Precious Time
by Debwood-1999
Summary: Takes place in 2004. This one answers the question, "What if Matt Hardy defeated Kane in the Death Do Us Part Match?" Matt/Lita, Trish, Christian/OC, and others.
1. Precious Time

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This story completely blindsided me! It was a plot bunny I had no intention of turning into a story, but it kept bothering me until I gave in. Keep in mind that this is NOT the sequel to _Untitled Lita Story._ It's a completely different story that answers the question, "What if Matt defeated Kane at _Summerslam 2004?" _The chapters are songs with "Time" in the title. **

**This is gonna be part kayfabe, part real. In it, Lita and Trish are off-camera friends and kayfabe enemies. Christian goes by Jay in this one as well and he's married to my OC and is friends (off-camera) with Matt.**

**DISCLAIMERS: I don't own anyone (except my OC). Commentary from JR and Jerry "The King" Lawler is courtesy of _Summerslam 2004_ and WWE Monday Night RAW. **

_**Precious Time**_

_**Chapter One—Precious Time**_

_Summerslam, Toronto Ontario  
8/15/04_

"I can't think of anyone else at Summerslam with a more vested interest in the outcome of the match on a personal level than this young woman," Jim Ross said as Lita marched down the aisle towards the ring to watch the "Death Do Us Part" match.

Jerry Lawler, JR's colleague, nodded as Lita climbed into the ring and acknowledged the crowd. "She looks very confident, JR. Hey! I think she's showing. She looks pregnant!"

JR brought the viewers up to speed. "Lita is carrying Kane's child. The contract was signed," he said, just as Matt's music started up, and lights flashed. Lillian Garcia made the necessary introductions.

As Lita watched Matt headed down the aisle to ringside, she noticed that he was averting his eyes. She tried to move around in an attempt to make eye contact with him. When he refused to meet her gaze, Lita felt her heart sink. He hadn't talked to her, or returned any of her phone calls, in the days following the contract signing. It was almost like she didn't exist anymore in his eyes. It had been an emotionally excruciating week. If not for Jay and Anna and Trish providing support, she would not have been able to endure as well as she had.

_Of course he doesn't want to look at you! _said the voice in Lita's head as she climbed out of the ring. _Can you blame him! You really thought sleeping with a monster would save your relationship? You never thought that there was an ulterior motive? You brought this all on yourself! _

_You dumb bitch! _

"Matt!" Lita shouted, hoping that there'd be an off-chance that he would acknowledge her. No luck. "Matt! I love you!"

A sigh escaped Lita's lips as she thought back to the predicament she'd put herself in:

_Lita and Matt reunited after Matt attacked Kane in an attempt to prevent him from harming Lita during a mixed tag team match. Undeterred, Kane attempted to seduce Lita. However, Kane's idea of 'seduction' included stalking and attacking Matt, kidnapping Lita and tying her up in a rat-infested basement. When that was unsuccessful, Kane began taking out all of Matt's opponents and demanded that Lita sleep with him in exchange for him leaving her and Matt alone. Lita refused, and the attacks escalated, as Kane targeted Matt for his assaults. Finally, after Kane attempted to break Matt's neck with a folding chair in the center of the ring, Lita relented._

_It was a disastrous mistake. Kane had no intentions of leaving Lita alone. He had always craved, but never had, a normal life - but realized that there was one that he COULD have, which was offspring. So he coerced Lita into sleeping with him, taking steps to ensure that she WOULD get pregnant. _

_And when Lita became pregnant, it sealed her fate._

_Matt had been overjoyed with the idea of becoming a father, and he jumped at the chance to start a family with the woman he loved. He'd even go so far as to buy an engagement ring and planned to propose to Lita on national TV. However, in the middle of his proposal, Kane interrupted him, claiming to be the father of Lita's child, and that Lita had slept with Kane in an attempt to keep Matt safe. Matt was devastated, and Lita knew she had nobody to blame but herself._

_Two months later, it was revealed that Kane was, in fact, the father, and it seemed like the rift between Matt and Lita had grown wider._

_Matt and Kane feuded for several months, leading to the "Till Death Do Us Part" match at Summerslam, with the stipulation that if Matt won the match, Kane would be banned from any physicality with Matt, Lita or Lita's baby. If Kane won, then Lita had agreed to marry Kane. Lita, confident that Matt would defeat the Big Red Machine (he had beaten the seven-foot tall monster before!) signed the contract along with Kane and Matt._

_Perhaps the rift between Matt and Lita would never be healed, but at least if Matt won, the Big Red Machine would no longer be part of their respective lives. It was a cold comfort, of course, but the alternative was so much worse._

"I can't even speculate what could be going through the mind of Matt Hardy right now as he enters the ring," JR sighed. "He hasn't even glanced at Lita."

"This is better than _Days Of Our Lives_ or _As The World Turns!"_ Lawler gushed. "This is like a sordid soap opera, except it's for real, JR. Look at Lita!"

"I admire Lita from the standpoint that she told Matt...He was the first to know," JR continued, as Kane lumbered down the aisle to his pyro display. "Matt wanted to believe that he was the father, but it was Kane's child she was carrying."

Kane leered down at Lita as he climbed into the ring. "What kind of father would this repulsive human being make? " JR spat.

"What do you mean?" Lawler asked as Matt glared at his nemesis. "He just wants to be normal!"

JR shook his head. "I think it's too late for that."

"The question now is, what kind of husband would he make? Could you see Kane-" Lawler's question was cut short as Matt charged the ring and took the fight to his nemesis.

"Matt Hardy has a no disqualification victory over Kane," JR pointed out. "But the stakes here are _so much_ higher than any match that Kane or Matt, in my estimation, have ever competed in, at a Summerslam, or any other event."

Lawler nodded. "Oh, yeah. the stakes are incredibly high for both of these men. But how high are the stakes for Lita?"

JR didn't need to reply to that; the answer was obvious. "Matt Hardy takes Kane down and goes for the cover...a two-count, and the first near fall for Matt Hardy. Matt's gotta use every bit of athleticism and quickness that he can muster to get that elusive three-count on Kane."

"Matt started off this thing like he's a man on a mission, JR, and that mission is, he wants to dispose of Kane and put that ring on the finger of Lita-look out!"

"Matt Hardy with a legdrop off the second rope," JR continued. "This could be it here-those shots to the head, a cover-and Kane able to power out. Kane nearly seven feet tall, and 320 or 330 pounds."

"And he's the man who impregnated Lita!" Lawler chimed in as Lita applauded and cheered Matt on.

JR continued his commentary. "Matt Hardy being set up on that top turnbuckle, and again, Matt can't let this match slow down. He has to quicken the pace at every opportunity-OH! What a tornado DDT! That could be it right there! The leg hook-and Kane still too strong here in the early going of this match tonight."

Determined, Matt threw a few roundhouse rights to stagger Kane into a corner. "This is very un-Kane like to see him this slow to start," observed Lawler.

"I know it's hard, King, and it may be impossible—OOH!" JR flinched. "Omigod! Matt Hardy walked right into the right hand uppercut!"

Matt dropped to the canvas like a sack of potatoes. Lita flinched as she looked on, anxiously clutching her hair.

"That could do it, JR!" Lawler exclaimed. "One punch could do it!" He glanced over at a distressed-looking Lita. "Lita better not get too excited. You know, she's in a...a delicate condition."

JR shook his head. I feel that she should not be out here, quite frankly. But I understand her motives. She wants to support Matt."

Lawler couldn't help himself. "Does she have morning sickness?"

~~~TIME~~~

_Meanwhile, in the VIP lounge…_

"Did he really have to go there, Jay?" Anna Reso asked in disgust as she and her husband sat on a cushy gray couch watching the show on closed circuit TV. Tyson Tomko had gone to get the two of them some refreshments, and Trish was getting ready for her Diva Dodgeball match, which about to be taped so that it could be played later in the broadcast. "That was so crass!"

Jay shook his head. "Unfortunately, he did. You have to remember, Anna. He's the king of crass." He noticed the ashen look on his young wife's face. "Are you doing okay? You look kinda sickly."

"I'm just thinking about what would happen if Kane won the match instead of Matt," Anna told her husband. "I already promised Lita I'd be her matron of honor, but being one at a wedding with Kane as the groom—" At that moment Jay pulled his young wife close and put his arms around her.

"Let's not think about that right now, okay?" Jay kissed the top of his wife's head.

"It's hard not to," Anna admitted. "But regardless, I'm still gonna help Lita and the baby." She turned to her husband. "And you're gonna help too, right?" she said, the expression her face leaving no room for argument.

Jay knew better than to argue with his wife. "Of course, Babe."

The two of them snuggled up and watched the in comfortable but worried silence. Finally, Anna spoke. "You think Matt's gonna wanna make things work with Lita if he wins this match?"

"You want the warm fuzzy answer?"

"I'd rather hear the truth."

"Honestly, Babe. I don't know." Jay sat up as the door to the lounge swung open. Tyson stepped into the room carrying a tray full of beers (non-alcoholic for Anna) and a couple of soft pretzels. "Thanks, Dude."

Tyson plunked the tray down on the table in front of the young marrieds. "You guys could have opened the door for me."

"You could have knocked," Jay fired back.

"You could have knocked," Tyson snorted mockingly, as he divvied up the goodies. "Here. Blue Moon for you, Jay. Non-alcoholic for the missus."

Anna smiled. "Thanks, Tyson. Which one's which?"

"Yours has the umbrella on the orange slice. You collect the umbrellas, right?

"Actually, it's the Hawaiian slipper charms, but thanks." Anna had started collecting Hawaiian slipper charms during her and Jay's honeymoon on Hawaii's Big Island two months ago. In fact, her favorite souvenir was being worn around her neck at the moment, a white gold and diamond slipper that Jay helped her pick out at one of the jewelry shops on Kona's main drag.

Tyson flopped down in the chair and a half adjacent to the couple. "How's the match going?"

"It's slowed down," Jay answered, giving Anna the orange slice off his cup of beer. "If Matt doesn't get it in gear, it'll be All Kane All The Time, and he'll wind up a grease spot on the canvas."

Anna shuddered. "Then Lita's gonna have to marry the freak."

"She wants to be Lita's matron of honor," Jay explained.

"But if Matt wins, you may not be the matron of honor," Tyson reached over and grabbed a soft pretzel. He bit, chewed and swallowed, and asked, "How do you know if they're gonna get married? When was the last time you talked to him?"

"Last week, right after the contract signing," Jay said, sipping on his beer. "Told him if there was anything Anna and I could do for him that we'd be there. He just grunted and left. Since then, he's stuck to himself. Hasn't returned our calls or anything."

Anna sighed. "The alternative to Matt beating Kane is..." shaking her head, she took a sip of her near-beer. "I don't wanna think about it."

"Anna, you don't wanna think about that right now," Jay cautioned his young wife. "You're getting all wound up. The match hasn't ended yet."

Anna climbed off the couch, pretzel in one hand, near-beer in the other. "No offense to Lita or Matt, but I don't think I can watch the rest of this match. I'm gonna go see Trish before her dodgeball game, maybe give her a pep talk or something," she gave Jay a peck on the cheek and said, "I'll be back."

Tyson turned to Jay once Anna had left the lounge. "So, who do you want to see win this one?"

Jay sighed. "I don't know. I mean, Matt's my best friend next to Adam, so of course I'm gonna cheer him on. And he's Anna's surrogate big brother. And you know how close she is with Lita. But this situation is...you can't describe it without using the word _cluster._"

Tyson chimed in, "You could call it a trainwreck." He took a huge sip from his own beer and said wisely, "Sometimes the only thing you can do is pray that the right thing happens."

Jay turned back to watch the action. "In this case, you may be right."

~~~TIME~~~

The action continued in the ring. "Kane choking Matt Hardy," JR continued, ignoring Lawler's tasteless morning sickness comment. He shuddered at the sight of the Big Red Machine leering over at Lita. "Kane had better not be careful to not get disqualified. Remember, the winner of this match has the honor of marrying Lita."

Lawler continued, undaunted. "Speaking of morning sickness, JR, how sick would Lita be every morning if she had to wake up next to Kane as her husband?"

JR cringed. "That is a frightening thought, as Kane tangled Matt up in the corner. "Kane hammers away with those big right hands."

"Looks like the tide's turning, JR," Lawler sighed.

"This match, as we said," stated JR, as Kane choked Matt with a big boot, "Is now at a pace that Kane likes, and the heavy artillery, the high impact stuff from the Big Red Machine."

Kane leered down at the woman who, if everything played out right, would become his property to do with as he saw fit. "You're mine, Lita."

Lita narrowed her eyes. "I'm not gonna marry you Kane!" she snarled. "No! NO!"

"Kane's intimidating Lita with that sadistic smile," Lawler commented. "He's the type that'll put her in her place!"

Snarling, Kane charges Matt, but Matt managed to duck out of the way, and Kane wound up sprawled on the arena floor as the fans shouted. Matt glared down at the arena floor, almost making a point to not look at Lita.

"Kane's gotta win the match before he starts planning for a wedding," JR shot back, as Matt got his second wind. "And Matt Hardy with a crossbody over the top rope! Matt now taking every chance he can. He will take every chance he can. Matt Hardy has got to win this match, or else Lita is obligated-OH! A Twist Of Fate on the outside! Kane is down!"

Cat quick, Matt slid back into the ring and got in the referee's face. "Start the 10-count! Come on!"

"He could get counted out here, JR!" shouted Lawler, referring to the sprawled out Kane.

"King, If that happens, Matt Hardy is the winner!"

_Stay down! Dammit, Kane! STAY DOWN! _Lita couldn't take her eyes off the Big Red Machine as he struggled to his feet. It didn't matter what Matt threw at him. Kane wouldn't give up. The referee got to the count of nine before Kane lumbered back into the ring, a wicked grin flicking across his face like a switchblade being opened.

_I'm not gonna let him do this! I'm not gonna let him win!_

In an angry panic, Lita dashed to the timekeeper's table. Leaning over, she reached over Lillian Garcia and grabbed the timekeeper's bell.

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed JR. "What's Lita doing?"

Lawler watched the scene unfold and shouted, "_Lita! You're not supposed to be lifting heavy objects."_

"King! She grabbed the ring bell!"

"She's really desperate, JR!"

"Wouldn't you be?"

_This may not be enough to beat him!_ Lita thought, as she rushed back to the ring, bell in hand. _But maybe it will give Matt some time. _

_Matt, I know you may not love me anymore, but I still love you! And I know you're doing this for me, even though you don't want to admit it. _

_I just hope you're willing to look this way. _

Sliding the bell under the ring ropes, Lita shouted and whistled to get Matt's attention. "Matt! _Matt! Look down! Look over here!"_

Finally, Matt glanced over in Lita's direction and saw the bell. He walked over and picked it up, still not looking at Lita.

"Maybe Kane would be an okay husband," Lawler mused, as Lita climbed up onto the ring apron and shouted at the referee.

"Lita distracting the referee—OH!" JR's commentary was interrupted as Matt clobbered Kane with the bell. The big monster dropped to the mat, dazed. "Right between the eyes! And that should do it!" he continued, as Matt shouted at the referee. "The ring bell right between the eyes of Kane! Matt Hardy getting the ref's attention-this is gonna be it here-NO! Two-count!"

The crowd shouted as Lita shook her head in disbelief.

"JR, Kane saved himself by putting his foot on the ropes!" gasped Lawler, as Matt staggered to his feet.

"King, I've never seen Kane use the ropes as an out before, and he did that time."

Lawler shrugged. "What do you expect? He got bashed in the head with that metal bell. Good grief!"

"You hear that on the replay, King? That was the wood base of that bell on a cranium," explained JR, as Matt climbed to the top rope. "Now Matt Hardy has a great opportunity to put Kane away here."

Like a cat, Matt balanced carefully and watched his nemesis struggle to his feet, preparing to pounce.

"Kane is having trouble standing!" JR continued, as Matt leaped off the turnbuckle. However, Kane grabbed him by the neck and tries a chokeslam. "Oh! come on here!" Luckily, the grip wasn't as strong as Kane wanted, as Matt broke out of Kane's grip and threw a couple of right hooks. "Matt fighting out of it!"

"You better fight, Matt!" Lawler exclaimed, as Matt tried for another Twist Of Fate. "You better fight for your married life!" Matt's offense was cut short as Kane tossed him into the ropes. Matt bounced off and ran right into a big boot that knocked him to the canvas.

A horrified squeak escaped Lita as she cringed and hid her face.

JR shook his head. "That size 18 boot right between the eyes of Matt Hardy. Kane taking him down."

"Look at Lita," Lawler chimed in. "The realization is starting to set on Lita."

"The Big Red Machine is taking a chance here!" JR continued as Kane climbed to the top rope. Just as he was poised to strike, Matt knocked Kane onto the turnbuckle, crotching him as the crowd roared loudly. Kane shouted in pain as Matt slugged him in the jaw. "Kane may have paid the ultimate price here!"

"Be careful, Matt!" Lawler warned, as Matt climbed up onto the ropes in preparation for a tornado DDT. "Kane may want more babies! He's not gonna stop at just one!"

JR continued to call the action. "Matt climbing up-he has to take advantage here. Quickly, if not sooner! Trying to set Kane up for another DDT—No! No!" Kane grinned sickly and grabbed Matt around the neck.

Frantically, Matt struggled to break free from Kane's grip as Kane tried to climb up onto the top turnbuckle. Matt realized, in horror, Kane's intentions. A chokeslam from this height would completely smash him to pieces.

"No! No!" shouted JR, as Kane laughed. _"Don't tell me he's gonna try for a chokeslam-"_

As she stared at the frightening scene in front of her, Lita realized that she'd had enough. She'd been a victim for far too long, and she was gonna do whatever it took to save her future, or at least go down swinging. _"Hey, Kane!"_ she shouted. The Big Red Machine glanced down. _"I hope you suffer premature pyro for the rest of your life, you Big Red Freak!"_

Kane glared at her. _"You little bitch! I'm gonna-"_

It was the distraction Matt needed. In his moment of distraction, Kane had loosened his grip on Matt's throat, giving Matt just enough slack to grab Kane's head and bite him in the nose. Kane shouted, and Matt wriggled down to get a proper foot hold. It was now or never. If he didn't execute this properly, he was doomed.

"Lita just said something," JR exclaimed. "Kane looks over- OH! Matt-I think-"

"He just bit Kane, JR!" Lawler couldn't believe what he'd just seen.

Shouting, Matt sprung backwards, twisted himself around and brought his nemesis to the mat hard. "Now, JR! Now he's got it!"

JR could barely contain himself. "Tornado DDT! Cover him, Matt!" he shouted. Matt crawled on top of a dazed Kane. "One...two...HE DID IT! "

"JR, Omigod! He beat Kane!"

"The Big Red Machine just got shut down!" JR shouted in joy, as Lita glanced up at the ceiling. Gratitude and relief was painted across her face.

Lawler pointed to the ring. "Look at Lita!"

"A look of joy and relief on Lita's face. And Kane sits up in shock!"

"I don't think Kane planned on this JR! He signed that contract last week, and now he's gonna have to abide by it!" Lawler added, as Matt crawled to his feet and the ref raised his arm in victory. Lillian Garcia announced him as the winner.

Kane shook his head in disbelief as he managed to get to his feet. Almost instantly, the referee got into his face.

"The referee ordering Kane out of the ring," JR explained, as the Big Red Machine slid out of the ring in a daze. "Kane is now barred from any physicality with either Matt or Lita. And by extension, that also means that he's barred from any contact with Lita's baby."

The defeated monster looked over at Lita. A tense moment passed as Lita wrapped her arms protectively around her belly and glared coldly at him. Kane stared at her, looked down at her belly...and then to everyone's surprise, bowed his head and lumbered off, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

Lawler shook his head. "That's not fair, JR!"

"Maybe not," JR pointed out. "But Kane signed that contract willingly, along with Matt and Lita. Now he must fulfill his end of the deal. And now, Matt Hardy has won the right to marry Lita. But the big question now is, does he really want to?"

Lita watched Matt celebrate his victory, her heart heavy. Now that the match was over, it was time to deal with the fallout. She had to know where she and Matt stood. Would he take her back? Would he want nothing more to do with her? Would he be willing to start a family and try to make things work, knowing full well that he wasn't her baby's father? There was only one way to know.

Cautiously, Lita stepped into the ring and carefully, slowly, approached the man who had just fought for her.

"And finally," JR said, as Matt turned to face Lita. "Matt is looking right at her."

Their eyes locked, the tension almost unbearable.

"JR," Lawler ventured, cautiously. "I don't think he wants to marry her. I mean Lita's pregnant with another man's baby."

"Matt and Lita can wed if they so choose now, King. But the emotional baggage now may be too great for them to overcome. Lita now standing right in front of Matt in the center of the ring. Words are being exchanged now..."

~~~TIME~~~

Lita took a deep breath, her arms wrapping protectively around the unborn baby in her belly, and began to cry softly. "I know you told me to stay away from you, but there's one thing I need to tell you."

Matt tilted his head to listen to Lita, the expression on his face unreadable. "I'm such a horrible person! I made such a huge mistake. If I hadn't slept with Kane, none of this would be happening."

Finally, Matt spoke, his words soft. "You could have gone to somebody in authority to stop him-"

Lita shook her head. "Bitchoff doesn't care! You know how feels about me, what makes you think that he would done something?" A pause. "Matt, I couldn't stand seeing Kane hurt you like he did. He said he wouldn't stop hurting you if I didn't do what he'd asked me to. It...He just backed me into such a corner. I didn't want to, but I was so desperate. He was gonna destroy you, and I just wanted it to go away!"

Matt shook his head and paced the ring. Lita followed him. "I wasn't in my right mind, Matt! After everything you and I have been through, the thought of losing you after all of it, I just...God, I was so stupid! I know you probably hate me, and I deserve it. But I just wanted you to be safe."

JR sighed. "Maybe the only thing that will come out of this is that Kane will never harm Matt or Lita ever again. Matt's safe, Lita's safe, Lita's baby is safe, and...maybe that's all the good that's come out of this drama."

Lawler frowned. "JR, you could be right. Lita...wow, you can almost feel the pain she's in."

Tears flowed from Lita's eyes. "Kane's never gonna hurt us anymore, but maybe that's all that'll happen now. Matt, I love you to death. I'll never stop loving you. But I also love my baby. And I'm gonna have my baby. With or without you."

"But getting back to what you said a moment ago, King," JR continued, as Matt stared at Lita, and Lita stared down at her shoes. "Matt Hardy is not the biological father of Lita's baby. Is he willing to take on the responsibility of being a parent when he knows that the baby belongs to someone else? And Kane turns back to gaze at Matt and Lita one last time, and he's slouched over in defeat as he walks away."

Lawler's voice was soft and sad. "And speaking of walking away, JR..."

Lita blinked back tears as she turned away from Matt and trudged towards the edge of the ring. Her expression was a study of heartache as she parted the ropes for herself and slowly stepped through and stepped out onto the arena floor. She approached the ramp towards the backstage and lingered for a moment. Seeing Matt with his back turned broke Lita's heart all over again.

JR couldn't help but feel compassion for the young woman who trudged down the aisle with a heavy heart. "Oh, Lita. You can't help but feel for her. She was forced into such a difficult situation to begin with."

Lawler chose his next words carefully. "JR, I have to say this, and I know that quite a few people may be angry with me for saying it. But Lita made her bed, and now it's time for her to lay in it. And I honestly can't blame Matt Hardy for wanting to wash his hands of this whole mess."

JR nodded sadly. "You may be right, King. Looking at Matt and Lita right now, I don't think he wants anything to do with her any more…"

~~~TIME~~~

Anna came back into the lounge (having finished her pretzel and near beer) in time to see Lita step out of the ring and trudge up the aisle. "I guess Matt won?" she asked softly, sidling up to her husband.

Jay reached up and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist, pulling her close. "He did. And I think he's made his intentions clear. Poor Lita."

Anna nodded and sniffled. There were unshed tears that prickled her eyes and threatened to fall.

Tyson snarled at the screen. "Prick."

"Does he not fucking know that he's gonna have to deal with us?" spat Jay as Anna gently removed herself from her husband's embrace and stepped back. "Does he _not fucking care!"_ Springing to his feet, he tossed his empty beer cup and the carrying tray at the TV screen and kicked the table over. _"I'm gonna kick his ass!"_

"Hope you don't mind me playing Devil's Advocate," Tyson ventured carefully. "But that's someone else's baby she's carrying—"

"Doesn't matter! I'm pissed not just for Lita, but for my _wife! Lita's her best friend, you hurt Lita, you hurt Anna, and you hurt me!"_ With an angry snarl, he charged for the door, yanked it open and charged out into the hall.

"Jay, wait!" Anna followed after him. "You just got back! Don't do anything you're gonna regret-"

"Go back to the lounge, Anna! I don't want you getting hurt-!"

"GUYS! WAIT! JAY, DON'T GO OUT THERE YET!" Tyson shouted as he stepped out of the lounge. "You gotta see what's going on…"

~~~TIME~~~

"Lita! Don't go, Lita! Come back."

Halfway down the aisle, Lita hesitated and glanced over her shoulder. Matt was at the edge of the ring, beckoning her. _Did I just hear him call my name?_

"Come back, Lita! I'm sorry."

Cautiously, Lita turned and walked hesitantly back to the ring. Her apprehension was clear for all to see as she stepped carefully through the ropes and approached Matt.

"Matt's asking Lita to come back!" JR said. "And I think I hear them talking."

Lawler grinned in excitement. "Let's listen in!"

In the ring, Matt lay his hands gently on Lita's shoulders. His voice was thick with emotion. "I know I seemed really cold and distant to you, but it wasn't because I wanted nothing more to do with you. I was just getting everything in order. That's why I didn't return your calls."

Lita tilted her head and studied Matt quizzically.

Matt continued. "I was so busy. There's so much I had to do. Not just for you, but for the baby, and for me." He paused. "For _us. _That baby shouldn't have to suffer because of who the father is. I don't care who your baby's father is. Because I want to be the _daddy._ And it's not just your baby anymore. It's _our_ baby. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you and _our baby."_

"Am I hearing things, JR?" Lawler wondered.

Matt gazed into Lita's eyes. "You asked me to make a decision a while back. And Lita...I wanna be with you, more than anything else in this world. I want you, and I want the baby…" With that, he placed a hand gently onto Lita's belly, and then took Lita's hands in his. "I want all of us to be together. I want us to be a family."

Lita dared to smile. "Matt! That's all I want. You made me the happiest-" Before she could finish her sentence, Matt takes Lita's face in his hands and kissed her.

The crowd was on their feet.

In the VIP lounge, Anna shrieked in joy and threw her arms around Jay. Tyson applauded and whistled. Even Trish managed to slip away from the dodgeball room to celebrate and pump her fist in triumph.

Jay nodded and smiled. "I'm still gonna kick his ass."

"Oh, look at this!" JR shouted back at ringside. "What a standup guy!"

Lawler shrugged. "Did I hear him correctly, JR? That it's his baby AND Lita's?"

JR couldn't stop smiling. "I think so, King! And Matt's asking the ring announcer for a microphone. It's been a roller coaster ride of emotions so far tonight. I think we heard Matt Hardy that he doesn't care who the biological father of Lita's baby is, because he wants to be the daddy. And that look on Lita's face just speaks volumes."

Matt composed himself before he started. "Lita, I loved you then. I love you now, and I'll never stop loving you."

"It's breathless anticipation, folks!" JR exclaimed.

Slowly, Matt got down on one knee and fumbled around in the pocket of his pants until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out the tiny red velvet box and opened it.

Lita gasped as she saw the wide gold band with the twinkling, pear-shaped diamond. She recognized it as the ring he'd proposed to her with at the beginning of their ordeal.

"He's been hanging onto that for quite a while!" JR pointed out to the viewing audience.

"I didn't realize how big that rock was, JR! I'd have to go into hock up to my eyeballs to afford a ring like that. How'd he manage to keep that from falling out of his pants pocket?"

"Does that bring back some bad memories for you, King?"

"Not for me, no."

Gently, Matt took Lita by the hand and gazed up at her.

"So, Lita...Lita...Will you marry me?"

Lita was rendered speechless with joy. This was the moment that she and Matt had fought so hard for. It symbolized the end of all the heartache, pain and horror they'd endured for so many months. It was the beginning of the Happily Ever After they both deserved.

As she gazed down at Matt's handsome, hopeful face, Lita found herself crying too hard to answer, but she smiled and nodded emphatically.

Matt smiled. "So I guess that's a yes?" Lita nodded, and that's all Matt needed. He stood up and slipped the ring on Lita's finger. The audience erupted into huge cheers; any louder and they would have blown the roof off of the arena.

"Everyone in the Air Canada Centre is on their feet!" shouted JR, as Matt and Lita embraced in the center of the ring, and Matt lifted his fiancée gently up off the canvas. "And if I'm not seeing things, there's people crying in the stands!"

"This is like Love Story, JR," Lawler chuckled. "if you like that kind of mush!"

"King, I love it!" JR exclaimed, as Matt raised Lita's arm, and then lifted Lita up onto his shoulders.

"I haven't seen such a display of emotions in years, JR!" Lawler beamed.

JR continued his happy commentary. "Lita perched on Matt Hardy's shoulders! King, it takes a special kind of man to step up like Matt Hardy just did. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him. And I think it's safe to say that the nightmare for him and Lita is finally over."

"JR, when do you think their wedding's gonna take place?"

"I don't know, King?"

"JR, what do you think Lita's gonna wear to the wedding? She can't wear white."

JR shook his head. "I think it's a little too early to speculate, King. I think those two need some time for themselves first."

Gently, Matt set Lita down and parted the ring ropes for her to step through. "This is their time now," JR continued as Lita stepped out onto the arena floor and waited for Matt to step down. They embraced again, and then Matt put his hand on Lita's belly. "Handle her carefully, Matt!"

Lawler couldn't resist. "Maybe she can wear bright red."

JR shook his head in mild disgust as the happily engaged couple made their way backstage. "I don't think we should be thinking about a wedding. We should be thinking about the rest of tonight's lineup..."

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: WOW! Matt could have handled things just a little differently, no? Happy to see Matt and Lita together again (at least in this story!) but Jay's probably gonna kick Matt's ass for freaking everyone out (his wife especially) like he did. **

**Just for the record, Anna is Anna Hollenbeck, my recovering alcoholic OC who is friends with the Core Group. Her story is on my ff dot net profile. I'll explain how she and Jay got together and got married in later chapters. Yes, this is gonna be a multi-chapter work. Chapter title is from the song _Precious Time_ from Pat Benatar.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE**


	2. Nothing But A Good Time

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Major congrats to Christian for becoming a 4-time IC champ at Over The Limit!:) THAT's what you call People Power (or Peep-le Power, maybe?), so TAKE THAT John Laryngitis!**

**This chapter was pretty tough for me to write, because my inspiration faded out partway. This story's gonna be considerably shorter than what I'd planned. Also, I think it would be kinda cold to keep Kane away from his baby. I know he signed that contract along with Matt and Lita, and he is supposed to abide by it, but I'm finding it hard to justify keeping Kane away while making Matt, Lita, and their friends sympathetic. It was the same way I felt when I wrote _Untitled Lita Story._ In that one, Lita lost her baby, and she and Kane wound up hashing things out and making peace with each other. This story may go in a similar direction.**

_**Chapter Two—Nothing But A Good Time**_

Backstage was buzzing with activity. Stagehands, maintenance guys, agents, and others congratulated Matt and Lita on their engagement. There were a few raised eyebrows, but they went ignored.

As they rounded a corner towards the VIP lounge, Anna barreled out of the room and nearly knocked Lita over in joy. "I'm so happy for you guys!" she squealed in joy. "Congratulations! I thought Matt was a goner, I was so scared!"

Lita chuckled and hugged her surrogate kid sister. "Anna, I'm okay! Everything from here on out's gonna be cake. Here..." smiling, she showed Anna her engagement ring. "Check this out."

"Wow! It's…so big." Anna couldn't stop the grin that tugged across her lips. "It's beautiful. How many carats, or do you know yet?"

"Carat and a half," chimed in Matt.

"Matt, you didn't mortgage your house for this, did you?"

Matt shook his head. "No way. It was my mom's engagement ring," he explained, as Lita nodded and smiled softly. "It means a lot more to us than if I'd gone out and bought one at the store."

"Aww, that's cool." Anna couldn't help but grin. "Have you guys decided on a date yet?"

"It's a little early for that.," Lita answered.

Anna was beaming. "I'm gonna be a matron of honor, and in a few months, I'll be an aunt." Smiling, she gave Matt a huge hug…and then proceeded to kick him in the shin.

"OW!" Matt exclaimed. "What the hell!"

Anna glared at her "big brother." "You scared us all to death, Matty. What the hell was that all about?"

Matt looked like someone had hit him in the head with a steel chair. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't talk to Lita for days, you don't return our calls, and you practically disappear on us all!" Anna snarled. _"Where the hell were you?"_

"Look, it's not what it looked like. It's just that—" Matt was interrupted by Tyson and Jay as they stepped out of the lounge.

Jay smiled and gave Matt a hug and a pat on the back. "Matt! Congrats, dude. Helluva match…" he paused…and then slugged Matt in the face with a hard right hook. Matt staggered backwards in shock as Jay glared at him. "And that was for scaring the hell out of my wife!"

Matt rubbed his jaw and chuckled. "I guess I deserved that."

"Damn right you did!"

Tyson, leaning against the VIP lounge doorway with his arms folded across his chest, was the next to strike. "What the hell was going through your head when you thought shutting everyone out was a good idea?"

Matt turned around and noticed that Anna, Lita, Jay and Tyson were looking at him with varying degrees of annoyance on their faces.

Even Lita, happy as she was about her engagement, looked rather aggravated. "Much as I'm over the moon about you proposing to me, what you did up until tonight was pretty fucked up. I'd like an explanation, and so would everyone else."

Matt sighed. "Okay, it wasn't a good idea, and I shouldn't have done it," he conceded, as he cast an apologetic glance at his friends. But instead of kicking me in the shins like you did, Anna, or belting me in the jaw like you just did, Jay, couldn't you guys at least let me explain what I did and where I was last week?"

Jay pondered for a moment and then put his arm around his wife. "Well, Tyson, Anna and I are going out for dinner. You and Lita are more than welcome to ride along with us, and you can explain yourself then."

"I'll wash up then. Lita, you gonna be okay without me for a few minutes?" Lita nodded and Matt gave her a peck on the cheek before heading down the hall to the showers. "Gimme a half-hour. I'll be back."

Jay smirked and shouted after him, "Hey, Matt! Just one thing." Matt turned around. "There's an unspoken rule in our car. Whoever drives gets to pick out the music."

"Okay?"

"Anna's driving."

"Yeah?"

Jay couldn't help but snicker. "Trish gave her the new Stratusfear CD." Stratusfear was only the biggest band in the universe, and their frontwoman, Mindy Stratus, was Trish's twin sister. Anna adored Stratusfear, and so did Lita and Jay (but only because his wife constantly listened to them, so he became a fan by osmosis), but Matt thought their music was nothing but goth caterwauling.

Matt had a look of abject horror on his face. "Stratusfear? You're kidding, right?"

Jay chuckled at his friend. "Hey, it could be worse. You could be stuck listening to Seals and Crofts."

Anna glared at her husband before smacking him on the arm. "Way to reveal my guilty pleasure, Jay! Just for that, you get to sleep on the couch when we get back to our hotel tonight!"

~~~TIME~~~

"...I spent the last week in talks with an adoption lawyer over in Sanford," Matt explained over dinner later that evening. "I had the lawyer look over the contract Lita and Kane and I signed, to make sure there weren't any loopholes that Kane could get around. I wanted to make sure that the contract we all signed was admissible as voluntary termination of parental rights."

Jay took a sip out of his glass of iced tea. "Well, was it?"

"Well," Matt explained, as he speared a tube of pasta with his fork. "The first three pages were medical releases, if anything happened to anyone involved in the match. The last two pages were the most important." Matt took a bite of his food, chewed, and swallowed before he continued. "If I won the match, like the contract stated, then Kane would be barred from any physicality with Lita or with me. And by extension, it would also include the baby. So yeah. That contract is just as good as a voluntary termination."

"All that bluster and anger and plotting...and he was arrogant enough to essentially sign his life away." Jay sighed. "So Kane pretty much gave up the rights to his own child."

Tyson reached for the basket of breadsticks in the center of the table. "He probably didn't think he could be beaten. Serves him right."

"Agreed," Anna nodded. "He had no business trying to sabotage you guys in the first place."

The five of them were at an Olive Garden a ways away from the arena. Jay, Anna and the others had picked this restaurant out because it was much quieter than anyplace near the arena and because it had a menu that Lita (a vegetarian who ate eggs, milk and milk products) would be comfortable ordering from. They'd even extended an invite to Trish and Adam, but they'd politely passed (Trish wanted some alone time with her boyfriend, and Adam was sore and hurting from his match, and his boyfriend had promised him a backrub).

Anna leaned over to check out Lita's dish of pasta primavera. It was the real deal; more veggies than pasta, with olive oil, basil and Parmesan cheese to top it. "That looks fantastic," she marveled, her mouth starting to water. "You mind if I steal a forkful?"

"Knock yourself out," Lita grinned as Anna picked up her fork.

Jay looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke up. "Matt, I'm gonna play Devil's Advocate for a moment. I know that you and Lita and Kane signed that contract, so Kane's contractually obligated to stay away from you guys." He paused, while he twirled some linguine onto his fork. "But if Kane is the bio dad of the baby, isn't it just a bit Draconian to completely shut him out?"

Matt sighed. "Y'know, if you weren't one of my best friends, Jay, I'd let you have it with both barrels. And if the baby's father was someone else, I wouldn't be such a hard nose. But this is _Kane_ we're talking about. And you know how Kane is. He's a fiend. Almost everyone in the locker room is scared to death of him. Would you really want someone like that around your kids? If and when you and Anna have any, of course."

Jay pressed on. "Okay. Fair enough. But have you ever considered that maybe all that scary stuff about him is more bark than bite?"

"Jay, he has plenty of bite to back up his bark!" Matt fired back. "He stalked and kidnapped Lita, coerced her into sleeping with him and got her pregnant, attacked my in-ring opponents so that I couldn't compete, and threatened to break my neck with a folding chair!" A pause. "So you tell me that his bark's worse than his bite."

Jay nodded and fell silent; Matt had quite a few valid points.

A slightly uncomfortable silence passed as the five friends ate their dinners. Then, Anna tried to ease the tension. "Soooo...uhhhmmm...have you guys thought about if you'll get married first and then have the baby, or have the baby first and _then_ get married?"

"We haven't gotten to that point, yet," Lita said gently, before taking a sip from her water glass. "The match ended just a couple of hours ago."

"You hoping for a boy or a girl?"

Tyson glanced over at Jay's wife with an amused expression on his face. "Boy, you really are the impatient type, aren't you?"

"I'm gonna be an aunt, I think I earned the privilege of being impatient," Anna fired back gently, as Jay regarded his wife with a slightly beleaguered look. "Anyway, I saw the cutest nursery at Babies 'R' Us last week. It was from The Lion King. It would be perfect for a boy or a girl." She paused, before taking another bite of her pasta dish. "Then, when Baby's old enough, Jay and I can throw a birthday party or two. It'll be so much fun. A big cake and a moonbounce, and maybe a clown for entertainment if our niece or nephew isn't scared of them, but if he or she is then we could get a magician-"

Jay put a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder. "Babe, I think you're getting carried away. The baby hasn't been born yet."

Matt chuckled. "If she's that excited about someone else's baby, imagine what she'll be like when you and her have your own baby."

Lita grinned. "I think the two of you would be fantastic parents."

Anna smiled back and gently took her husband's outstretched hand. "And I think you and Matt will be awesome parents, too."

Tyson cleared his throat and lifted his bottle of beer. "Guys, before we get all sentimental here, I want to make a toast." He paused. "To Matt and Lita, and to Anna and Jay. Tonight's the first step in the biggest journey of your lives. I hope we'll all be there for each other every step of the way."

"We can all drink to that," Matt nodded as everyone clinked their glasses and bottles together.

~~~TIME~~~

_Labatt's Centre, London Ontario_

_8/16/2004_

Trish Stratus rearranged the balloons around the plastic banner she'd hung up in the dressing room. A little smile perked up her lips as she set Jazz's and Victoria's gifts on the table. _Perfect, _she thought. _Not bad for a thrown together party._ This little get-together—a combination engagement party/bridal shower that she, Anna and a few fellow Divas decided to throw—was just what she needed to lift her spirits, especially since the previous night's Diva Dodgeball game ended in so much controversy. _The ball never hit Gail! You'd have to be blind to not see that! No wonder everyone calls Earl Hebner myopic!_

_Is it just me, or is the Diva division starting to get dumbed down? Sure the DivaSearch contestants are all pretty, but they couldn't wrestle their way out of a paper bag!_

A knock on the door interrupted Trish's thoughts. "Door's open."

"Hi! I'm late!" Anna breezed in, carrying a large paper gift bag decorated with ribbon curls. She set the bag down on the table, and she and Trish air-kissed. "Jay and I had to wait in line at the store longer than we wanted. He dropped me off so he could go look for a parking spot."

"That bag's enormous. What's in it?"

Anna removed a couple of bottles of sparkling cider and some plastic wine glasses out of the bag. "Baby things. Clothes, blankets, socks, rattles and binkies, and a kit with baby care items. We tried to get green or yellow, so it would work with a boy or a girl. I'll let the other girls pick out the wedding gifts."

Trish smirked. "Speaking of gifts, you have to see what Jazz got Lita as a gag gift."

"I almost don't wanna know," Anna couldn't stop the grin that tugged across her lips.

"Jazz got her a vibrator."

Anna busted up laughing. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

Trish set a pan of brownies that she'd swiped from catering on the table next to the big gift bag. "And get this—you can play mp3s on it!"

"So you can be serenaded while you buzz off! Trish, I wonder about you." A pause. "Brownies, huh?"

"They didn't have German chocolate cake. I had to make do."

"It's chocolate. Lita's gonna like it still. Seriously, Trish. It's nice to see you laughing and having fun. I could tell you were upset last night after the dodgeball game." Anna was right about that. Before she, Jay, and the others had left for dinner the night before, Anna had dropped in to offer some kind words and a hug. Getting beat by a bunch of, as Anna had put it, airheads, had angered Trish tremendously. The divas were just as talented and hard working as they were beautiful, and it was a shame that a group of girls who were in it for only their scenic attributes were getting more attention.

"You're wearing a dodgeball shirt," Trish grinned; she'd given Anna an extra one. "You look cute."

Anna grinned. "Thanks. Jay thinks so, too." She read the banner Trish had taped up on the wall. "Congratulations, Lita and Matt! I like it."

"And wait till you see the picture Gail had made of Matt and Lita. She got one of them from last night, had it blown up and put in a frame."

"Last night? How'd she have time to get that done?"

"It's a temporary frame until she can find something a little sturdier. But it's still a nice picture"

Anna glanced around the decorated room. "It looks like things are under control. Do you need any more help?"

"Can you sneak into catering and grab some paper plates and napkins? Down the hall and to the right."

"Sure thing." On her way out, Anna paused in the doorway. "Trish?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. Lita's gonna love this."

Trish grinned. "I _know_ she will."

~~~TIME~~~

Meanwhile, Lita was killing some time before the TV tapings by talking on her cell phone to her mother (Matt was getting in a last-minute workout before his match). "Yeah. My back's been a little sore, and I've been spotting a little. Doctor said it's nothing to worry about. Everything looks normal. We've got the ring. Mom, it's beautiful. No date yet. I think we're gonna try to schedule it so that we all have a day or two off. Anna's my matron of honor, that's a given. Okay. I have to go. I'll talk to you later. Okay. Love you too. Bye."

Lita snapped her phone shut just as Jonathan Coachman accosted Lita in the hall. "Lita, just one question, if you don't mind."

Lita shrugged. Coach was annoying as hell, but she was in a good enough mood to talk to him. "Sure."

"Do you have any comments to the entire world, now that you and Matt Hardy are officially engaged?"

Lita noticed the microphone in Coach's hand. _We're taping so soon? Matt and I just barely got here. _"Not really. I have the ring. We haven't decided on the date yet."

Coach nodded. "I guess congratulations are in order. But don't you consider it a bit awkward?"

Lita cocked an eyebrow. "Awkward?"

Coach continued. "I mean, you and Matt are getting married, and Matt's gone on record as saying he wants to be with you and your baby. But don't you think it's a bit uncomfortable for Matt to want to marry you, knowing full well that Kane is the biological father of your child?"

Lita scowled. She knew this question would be asked sooner than later. "That may be, but Matt wants to be the daddy."

"But don't you think you and Matt are being unfair to Kane? After all, that's his child you're carrying."

Lita tried to answer this as tactfully as she could. "Kane signed the contract, just like Matt did, and just like I did. If you are so interested in hearing what he has to say, why don't you talk to him yourself?" Fixing the annoying interviewer with a hard look, she said, "Look, Coach, I don't think I can make myself any clearer. Matt and I are getting married. And it's gonna be Matt, me...and _our baby. _Any questions?"

Coach stammered; he didn't expect to be put on the defensive. "Ummm...no."

"Fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be going." With those words, Lita brushed past Coach and walked purposely down the hall. She felt a twinge in her belly and winced; her OB/GYN had reassured her that some cramping and spotting during pregnancy was not uncommon, but it was still uncomfortable. Perhaps one of the girls in the locker room had some Advil that Lita could take to take the edge off the pain. She yawned and pushed open the door labeled _Women's Locker Room._

_Why is it so dark? _Lita wondered, as she stepped inside and flipped on the light...

"SURPRISE!"

At first things didn't quite register. Then, as she glanced around the brightly decorated room, Lita noticed the pink banner on the wall that read _Congratulations Lita and Matt!_ emblazoned across it in black cartoon letters. Another banner on the other side of the room read, _Bride & Mom To Be! _Bouquets of silver balloons were hung on either end of each banner There was a table covered with a pink tablecloth upon which sat a pan of what looked like brownies in one corner of the room. Adjacent to that was another pink-draped table laden with gift boxes and bags.

In front of the tables stood Trish, Anna, Jazz and Gail applauding and whistling.

Lita laughed and glanced around the room in amazement. "What the hell—how'd you get all of this put together so fast?"

"Aahh...the magic of Zellers and the Canadian Superstore," Trish smiled, as she ushered Lita into the room and led her to a comfy chair. The other girls got seated and Anna began moving some of the packages off the table to where the girls were seated. "We just wanted to do something special for you before your legitimate Big Day," Trish explained. "Believe me, nobody is more deserving of some happiness than you."

"Congratulations," Jazz purred.

"I don't know what to say," Lita sighed as Gail brought her a paper plate with a brownie on it.

"You don't need to say anything," Anna pshawed as she brought over some more packages. "Thank us after the presents."

"Yes, there's presents!" Trish added, as she got up to open one of the bottles of cider and serve glasses of it to the girls. "Keep in mind, though, that this is a wedding and baby shower, so there's no booze. That's gonna be for _much_ later," she said, as the other girls laughed.

Gail set a few pastel colored envelopes down on the table next to Lita, who had set her plate down and out of the way. "Victoria, Stacy and Molly couldn't be here, they had some other commitments, but they asked me to give these to you. There's gift cards for you so you can get what you want. But..." She nudged a Victoria's Secret gift bag towards the bride/mother-to-be. "I brought you something that I think you'll enjoy." She winked and added, "And something that Matt will probably enjoy, too."

Lita's eyes widened as she opened the bag and removed the tissue paper inside. Inside the bag was a camisole of red satin trimmed in black lace, with matching panties and black fishnet stockings. "Oh, wow!" she gasped, holding up the sexy lingerie as her friends hooted and whistled and hollered. "This is hot!"

"It's something nice for your wedding night, or whenever you're feeling especially passionate," Gail explained, reaching across the other table to pick up what looked like a giant bubble-wrap envelope of metallic pink. "Aaand, there's more." She blushed slightly. "I'm not very good at wrapping things, so this envelope will have to do."

Carefully, Lita opened the envelope and her eyes widened as she removed the framed portrait of her and Matt kissing in the center of the ring. "That's from last night? How on Earth did you get this made?"

"I found a good picture online, printed it out and had it blown up at Kinko's," Gail explained, as the other girls marveled over the portrait. Then, I found a cardboard frame. That'll have to do until I get a real nice one for it-"

"It doesn't matter. I love this!"

Anna was next. "And this big bag is from Jay and me." The girls smiled and _awww-_ed over the baby clothes and accessories. Lita appreciated her friend's practicality; Anna and her husband had made it a point to pick out items that would work for either a boy or a girl.

Trish cleared her throat. "But we saved the best for last. You ready?" A pause. "Jazz?

"That's right, Baby!" Jazz answered, sidling up to Lita like a cat. She was holding something behind her back. "On those long cold nights when Matt's out of town..." She held up a big silver box with a decorative white bow on top and nearly dropped it as she placed it into Lita's lap. Lita recoiled in surprise—as did Gail, Trish, and Anna—when she realized the package was _vibrating!_

"Is this what I think it is?" asked Lita suspiciously, as she carefully unwrapped the gift. Her jaw dropped in shock and the girls giggled as she recognized the contents of the box. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Oh, no!" Jazz looked sheepish. "It's just that...well...someone had to get the gag gift. Uhmmmm, the batteries are included, too." The girls howled in laughter and Jazz blushed.

"C'mere." Lita reached up and gave Jazz a hug. "I probably won't be able to use it now. I have zero sex drive." A smirk crossed her lips as she pulled out a slip of paper and unfolded it. "Though I may be using it later. Hmmm. _Talking Head?_ That's the name of it?"

"You can play mp3's on it," Jazz explained. "Or you can download fantasies off the Internet. There's a website you can go to."

"Like an iPod?" Lita looked thoughtful for a moment. "So I can listen to music while I buzz off, right? So instead of an iPod, it's an iBuzz!" The girls laughed riotously. When the mirth faded slightly, Lita smiled. "Seriously, I think I'm going to like this gift." A pause. "Guys, I don't know how to thank you. This was really sweet of you all."

"You deserved it, Lita. After all you and Matt went through, everything else is gonna be a slide on ice," Trish grinned as she and the others got together for a group hug. It was a sweet portrait of friendship and joy and new beginnings.

What none of them knew was that Lita's baby was potentially living on borrowed time.

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The vibrator that Jazz gave Lita is called a Talking Head. It has USB connections that will allow you to connect to your PC or Mac and download music or sexual fantasies. It came out in 2007, so I guess I'm a little ahead of the times. The chapter name is from _Nothing But A Good Time_ by Poison from their _Open Up And Say...Aaaahhh. _CD. I think Lita is a vegan now, and I'm not sure when she became one, so I'm sorry if my timeline's not accurate. BTW, I hope this didn't read too choppy. Apologies in advance if it did.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE**


	3. Time Bomb

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Whew! It's been a scorcher for the past couple of days! This is why I'm thankful for Panera Bread, because of their air conditioned restaurants, and their free refills of iced tea. Their fresh fruit pastries are another reason (I'm picking up one for the road later).**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope this reads okay. Somehow, I just feel like this isn't my best effort, but then again, I'm my own worst critic.**

**Back to the arena—RAW's on the air, and JR and King are discussing the previous night's festivities. BTW, some of this chapter (and some of the next) was inspired by McMahonHemsleyEraFan's story _Rewind _(thanks for the inspiration). Go. Read. LOVE!:)**

_**Chapter Three—Time Bomb**_

"Once again, we give props to Randy Orton, the youngest world champion in WWE history. But, I think the other match everyone's still talking about is the Death Do Us Part match between Kane and Matt Hardy," JR said, as highlights from said match were being shown on TV.

"There she is, JR. The lovely Lita. She was at ringside, and there you see Kane, and there is the man who is now her husband-to-be, Matt Hardy! What a match it was! Both men giving it their all. So much was riding on this match."

"Absolutely, King. There were vicious clotheslines, leg drops—here you see Matt with a nice one! Both competitors were pulling out all the stops."

"But it was Lita with the most riding on the outcome. Near the end of the match, she passed the ring bell to Matt, and Matt bashed Kane in the noggin with it! Didn't knock out the Big Red Machine, but it was enough to set Kane up for a tornado DDT! End of match, and it's bye-bye Kane!"

"Kane is now banned from any physical contact with Matt, Lita, or the baby that Lita's carrying. But King, the real drama unfolded after the match. Matt, who didn't speak to Lita for several days after the contract for the match was signed, finally came face to face with her."

"Some words were exchanged, JR, and it looked like Matt was about to tell Lita to take a hike until...he got down on one knee and proposed to Lita in the center of the ring."

"King, it was a true display of emotions, Matt and Lita celebrated in the ring. Plenty of tears were shed, but they were happy tears as Matt and Lita went off into the sunset."

~~~TIME~~~

"There's only one thing that I've always craved but never had," grumbled Kane, as he changed into his ring gear. Across from him, Adam leaned up against a locker. He was dressed in his gear and ready to go, and he was listening to the Big Red Machine, a disinterested look on his face. "A normal life. I know I'll never have that, and I accepted that fact years ago. But there's one thing that I could have, and that was offspring. A son or a daughter. Someone that I could mold, someone to continue my legacy. So I made an…arrangement with Lita. I even took every precaution to make sure that she would get pregnant."

"That was before last night, Pal," Adam fired back. It wasn't an arrangement. Kane had threatened to seriously injure Matt unless Lita slept with him. It was forced sex, and as far as Adam was concerned, it was just as heinous as rape. "But you had to go and sign that contract." A pause, and then Adam smirked coldly. "So, how'd that work out for you, Kane?"

Kane slammed his fist into his locker door. It didn't faze Adam; he wasn't the kind who could be intimidated easily. He could take care of himself. "Don't rub that in! All I had to do was beat that bitch Hardy. Then I could get everything I wanted. A wife. A child. And, when the timing was right, I'd get a World Championship."

"You were so confident that you'd win, and it all blew up in your face." Adam had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. "Ain't karma a bitch?"

"That's my child Lita's carrying, Adam! She and Matt have _no right _to keep it from me!"

_"Oh, cry me a fucking river!"_ snarled Adam. "Kane, you're leaving out one little detail. You signed a contract which stated that if Matt beat you, you would be forced to stay away from him, Lita, and the baby. Now you're bitching and complaining because _you_ didn't get the job done? Whose fault is that?

"If you're looking for sympathy from me, forget it. I have _zero_ sympathy for you, and I'm sure that applies to most of the roster. What goes around, comes around, Kane. As far as I'm concerned, you _deserve_ the hell you've put everyone through."

Kane glared at his opponent for the evening. "Where do you come off, being so high and mighty? You just got back from an injury, _neck surgery,_ for God's sake! You haven't been here long enough to know the whole story—"

"I think I know enough."

"Really? Then what makes _you_ so uniquely qualified?"

"Well, in case you didn't know, 'bitch' Hardy's brother Jeff, he's my boyfriend. Lita's surrogate kid sister is my best friend's wife. I've been an unofficial sounding board for all of them, so I've heard everybody's side of the story while I've been recovering. Sure, I'm not directly involved, but I've been in the loop long enough to form my own opinion, and my opinion is that you've been completely out of line." A pause. "Which reminds me, Kane. I wanna ask you something."

"What?"

"You knew all along that Matt and Lita were trying to work things out and get back together. You knew you couldn't have Lita, but you decided to try to take her anyway. _Why?_ Why _Lita, _of all people? There are so many other women that you could have chosen, but you chose Lita. What was so special about Lita? Why were you so willing to destroy someone else's relationship just so you could bring your offspring into the world?"

Kane shook his head. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about right now. "You wouldn't understand—"

"Really?" Adam was in front of the Big Red Machine in two strides. He smacked the locker and glared at his opponent. "We have a few minutes. You can make me understand in a few minutes, can't you? It shouldn't take too long. Come on, Kane! What made Lita so special that you had to stalk, kidnap and rape her—"

"I did NOT rape her!"

"Maybe not literally, but what you did to her was pretty damn close! Why did you have to chose her?" Adam narrowed his eyes. "Why? There's got to be a good reason, or you wouldn't have gone through all this trouble, so explain it to me! I want it explained to me _right now!"_

Adam's tirade was interrupted by a knock on the dressing room door. Snarling, the Intercontinental Champ threw the door open. "WHAT?"

The young stagehand in the doorway recoiled. "Uh…." he stammered. "You guys are up next."

Adam nodded. "Thank you," he answered back, his voice calmer. As soon as the stagehand left, he turned to Kane. "This conversation's not over by a long shot." Slinging his championship over his shoulder, he said, "I'll see you out there," before striding out into the hallway.

~~~TIME~~~

Eric Bischoff glanced up from his copy of the run sheet when he heard the knock on his office door. "Come in."

Matt, dressed in his ring attire, entered the room, shaking his head in disdain at the full-sized portrait of the RAW GM on the wall. "You wanted to see me?"

"Close the door behind you, please." Eric set the run sheet down on his desk and folded his arms across his chest. A tense moment passed before he spoke. "Matt, what am I gonna do with you?"

"I guess you didn't invite me here to congratulate me on winning last night, right?"

"You know, this is a really sticky situation for me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm gonna be as blunt as possible, Matt. I wanted Kane to beat you. I had everything planned out. A big white wedding with live music and decorations and a worldwide audience. I even planned on a couple of wedding presents for him. First one was a match with Edge for his Intercontinental Championship. And then a match at Unforgiven against anyone he wanted." Eric raked his fingers through his hair. "Now all I can give him is a consolation prize."

"I guess you won't be paying for our wedding," Matt fired back. Not that he expected the GM to do that. And even if he did, Matt wouldn't accept it anyway; he knew that Bischoff wouldn't offer something unless he had some ulterior motive. "But I'm not surprised that you'd place all your chips on Kane. It's obvious that you have your favorites on this roster, and that doesn't include me or Lita."

"I'm looking out for the best interests of this brand," Eric tried to explain, but his words were disingenuous. "You're gonna marry a woman who's pregnant with another man's baby, Matt. It doesn't look good for business."

"You're the one who made the Summerslam match in the first place. And that contract was signed by me, Lita, and Kane. It's not my fault that things didn't turn out the way you wanted them to."

"I wanted Kane to defeat you because of the controversy it would create. People would talk about for months. And the possibilities! It would have been a real-life _Beauty and the Beast. _Lita, married to a man she despised, but the two of them have a child. Over time, she would warm up to her husband, Kane. And the baby would bring them together. It would have been a love story for the ages—"

_"That's what you wanted?"_ snorted Matt, indignant. _"Some controversial love story?_ Good luck with that. I know that Lita would have done everything in her power to make Kane's life miserable if she married him. She'd have kept a record of everything he did to her—every time he laid a hand her, every time he threatened her, or was violent towards her or her friends—she'd record all times and places and witness, and take his ass to court and sue him for everything he was worth. And she'd probably win. And his _offspring?"_ Matt put the word _offspring_ in air quotes. "Any judge with half a brain would have severed Kane's parental rights in a heartbeat. So much for your _Beauty and the Beast_ idea.

"And don't think _you're _exempt, Eric. Lita would sue you for sexual harassment and reckless endangerment. After all, you did threaten to fire her if she didn't pose for Playboy or go to bed with you. And when Kane started terrorizing us, you chose to look the other way. All you did was plug your ears and go_ La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!"_

"I can't believe we're having this conversation!"

"Well, maybe if you'd done your job in the first place, we wouldn't _have_ this conversation."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know. You chose not to do anything because you wanted to punish Lita for not putting out! And you wanted to punish me because you have some sort of grudge!"

"That's not true!" spat Eric.

"Don't lie. You have one, and you know it."

The tension in the office was so thick, it could be sliced. Finally, Eric spoke. "Matt, you're leaning on my desk."

Matt snorted and straightened himself up. "Oh. I'm sorry. You afraid you desk will get an imprint of my ass?"

"Hey, watch your language!"

Matt throttled his anger. He knew that if he lost his cool, Bischoff would do something to antagonize him further. The RAW GM was just cold-blooded and heartless like that. "You asked me to come in here because you had an opponent for me."

"I do. I was going to give you some details about who he is, but since you've been so disrespectful towards me, I think I'm gonna keep his identity a surprise until you go out there."

Matt's jaw dropped in shock. "WHAT?"

"Well, maybe you should have shown a little more respect towards me just now." Eric drew closer, a cold smirk on his face. "I could have easily fired you for your lack of respect. But I didn't. I do have _some_ compassion. Look at it this way. I'm providing for you and your growing family. After all, you have a wedding to plan and a baby to worry about, right?" Matt nodded, his expression was somber, but inside, he was fuming. "Okay, Matt. You're dismissed."

Silently, Matt turned on his heel and stalked out of the office. As he stomped down the hall, he heard Bischoff call out after him. "Good luck tonight, Matt. You'll need it."

~~~TIME~~~

"Are you sure you wanna go out there, Babe?" Matt asked Lita while the two of them were in his dressing room enjoying some quiet time before the match against the mystery opponent. Jay and Anna had politely stepped out of the room to grab a bite to eat and give the two lovebirds some privacy. "There's no telling what could happen to you."

It was the halfway point of the broadcast. So far, the show had been pretty enjoyable, but nothing spectacular.

Randy Orton had kicked the show off by going on a Youngest Ever rant, going so far as to invite the 24 year old males to stand up, take their shirts off, and compare their lives to his (Jay, who was watching the festivities with his wife backstage, had called it an unparalleled display of douchebaggery). That resulted in Chris Benoit coming out to exercise his rematch clause, and announcing that Bischoff had made the rematch for the Main Event that evening. Then, Ryno took on Sylvain Grenier for a chance at the Tag Team Championship at Unforgiven. Tajiri (Ryno's tag partner) helped secure the win for Ryno by spewing green stuff into Sylvain's face.

In Diva competition, Victoria beat Gail Kim, and Trish (accompanied by Tyson) stormed the ring for to brawl with her on-screen rival. Tyson then lifted Victoria up over his head for a press slam, but that was interrupted by a mystery fan (Stevie Richards in drag), who rushed in, beat up Tyson, and then checked on Victoria before bailing.

Later, Kane took on Adam in the "consolation prize match" for the Intercontinental Title. It was a decent back-and-forth match, but Kane was obviously distracted. Near the end, both combatants knocked the referee down, with Adam getting the better of the collision. Finally, Adam knocked the Big Red Machine down with the spear for the three count.

Lita snuggled up against Matt's chest. It had taken a while, but she'd managed to smooth out her husband-to-be's ruffled feathers. "Matt, I wouldn't go out there if I didn't think I could take care of myself. I'm not some fragile flower. Besides, you said as much to JR earlier."

Matt nodded. "Yeah. I did say that, didn't I? It's just that now you've got a little Version Two growing in there." At the mention of _Version Two,_ Lita grinned and placed one of Matt's hands on her belly. Matt felt the tiny flutter beneath his fingers and smiled in wonder. "You hoping for a boy or a girl?"

"Doesn't matter," Lita assured her fiancée. "As long as Baby has ten fingers and ten toes and everything in the right place, I'll be happy."

"So will I," Matt murmured as he pulled Lita close to kiss her gently. She returned the favor and the two of them got momentarily lost in each other.

Their cuddle session was interrupted by a knock on the door. Matt glanced over the top of Lita's head. "Who's there?"

"Stagehand. You're up next."

"Thanks!" Matt sighed as he and Lita disengaged from their embrace. "I guess it's that time."

"Guess so." Lita winced slightly as Matt helped her up. She caught the worried expression in her fiancé's eyes and tried to reassure him. "I'm okay. I talked to my OB/GYN. It's just cramping. My body's adjusting. Nothing to worry about."

Matt nodded, although deep down, he didn't feel entirely convinced. He suddenly had an ominous feeling about this match. He briefly considered telling Lita to stay backstage, but knowing his fiancée as well as he did, she'd refuse. C_alm down, Matt! _the voice in his head chastised him. _Lita can handle herself. There's a referee out there as well. He'll make sure things don't get out of hand._

Pushing the ominous feeling aside, he put on his ring coat and prepared to head to the ring, with Lita right at his side.

~~~TIME~~~

_"…Oh, yeah! I can slap a tornado, I can dry up a sea! When I live for the moment, there ain't no f?king with me!" _Matt emerged on the entrance ramp, with Lita on his arm, as the fans roared their approval.

"The following contest is scheduled for one fall," announced Lillian Garcia. "Introducing first, being accompanied by Lita, from Cameron, North Carolina, weighing in at 229 pounds, Matt Hardy Version 1!"

"It's great to see Matt Hardy and Lita back together again," JR announced happily, as the couple began their walk towards ringside. "Especially after all the hell they've been through!"

"Absolutely, JR! it's not often that we agree on something. But after what we saw last night at Summerslam, you can't help but feel happy for them. And there's a Matt Fact, _Matt's life is better with Lita in it."_ Lawler watched as Matt slipped into the ring and held the ropes open for his fiancée. "And am I seeing things, or is Lita glowing?"

"Lita's out here to show support for her husband to be," JR said, as Matt climbed onto a turnbuckle and flashed a V-1 sign.

Lillian continued her ring introductions. "And his opponent, from Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, weighing in at 285 pounds, Gene Snitsky!"

Matt sized up the tall, brawny kid with the steely eyes and the goatee. The kid certainly looked big and opposing, but he didn't look terribly dangerous. _I took on Kane last night,_ he thought, chuckling to himself. _So this shouldn't be too difficult._

_Hell, I should be used to this!_

"Matt Hardy was ordered by a rather angry Eric Bischoff to come out and face this big youngster from Pennsylvania," JR continued, as Matt kissed Lita on the cheek and rubbed her belly gently. "I'm not worried about him facing such a big guy—we all know that Matt Hardy can handle business in the ring—I'm more worried about Lita being at ringside."

Lita stepped out of the ring and the match got underway.

"Well JR, she's got a little...I don't know, Version 2, or perhaps a little MF-er in there—and you don't want to see anything happen to it."

"I had a chance to talk to Matt before the broadcast. He said, and I quote, 'If Lita insisted on staying behind in the dressing room, then I'd think something was wrong with her. She wouldn't be out here if she didn't think she could take care of herself."

"Hey look, JR! She's showing."

"Kane, as we all know, fathered Lita's baby, but the Big Red Machine lost his parental rights last night when Matt beat him in the Death Do Us Part match at Summerslam."

"You have to wonder what's going through Kane's mind right now, JR."

"Well, Kane didn't bring his A-game earlier during the Intercontinental Championship match earlier tonight between him and Edge. It was a supposed to be a wedding gift from Eric Bischoff, but I guess it became a consolation prize, and it showed. There's Lita, cheering on her husband to be as Snitsky tangles Matt into a side headlock. A side headlock is not a finishing move by any stretch, but it'll wear out your opponent. And it'll cauliflower your ears in a second."

"Look at that engagement ring, JR!"

"They have a ring, but no date yet. I guess Matt and Lita want to let things settle down a little before they start planning a wedding. Planning a wedding is stress enough, and when you add a baby on the way, well, it kinda complicates things. Irish whip now, reversal, Matt drops down, Snitsky off the ropes and OH! A huge shoulder smash from Snitsky sends Matt Hardy through the ropes and almost back to the locker room. And Lita's out there, checking on her fiancé. Matt is checking to see if his teeth are still attached. A blow like the one we just saw can loosen your teeth."

"Lita's got an OB/GYN, but after this match, JR, Matt may need a dentist."

"You're right about that, King. The referee gently ordering Lita out of the way. Lita insisted that she accompany her fiancé to ringside tonight."

"Y'know, the ref's got two things to keep his eye on, JR. Number one, the match. And number two, Lita and the baby."

"Snitsky—what the hell's he doing?"

"He's talking to Lita. What's he saying."

"Nothing complimentary I can assure you, King! That look on Lita's face could take paint off a wall! Whatever Snitsky said to her, it was probably rude and insulting. Snitsky tossing Matt back into the ring. Tangling up in the corner, and WOW! The big kid from Pennsylvania going downstairs with a few big rights."

"He's built like a Sherman Tank, JR."

"Now, Hardy spins Snitsky around and returns the favor. Remember, this match was ordered by Eric Bischoff. I have to wonder if Bischoff is trying to punish Matt for winning the match last night…"

~~~TIME~~~

_"Hey, you're pregnant! Why aren't you barefoot and in the kitchen?"_

_The nerve of that kid!_ Lita thought angrily. _He doesn't even know me!_ Snitsky had had the gall to insult the pregnant bride-to-be as he tossed Matt back into the ring. She shook her head and tried to concentrate on the match.

The pain in her belly was becoming more intense. She rearranged her features into a bland expression that easily concealed her discomfort.

~~~TIME~~~

Snitsky managed to back Matt into the corner. The ref broke it up, but the youngster managed to shove Matt. Matt stepped forward and smiled.

"Come on, Snitsky. You can do better than that," he taunted, as he and the young tough circled each other like sharks around a life raft. Matt locked in an arm twist to a headlock, but Snitsky busted out and drove an elbow into Matt's face, forcing him to stagger back. "A big elbow by Snitsky on the break," JR said. "The ref admonishing Snitsky as he tosses Version 1 into the corner and ignores the referee's verbal command." Snitsky knocked Hardy down onto the mat. "The kid from Pennsylvania is tougher than we thought."

Matt reversed an Irish whip. Snitsky stopped short before he crashed into the turnbuckle and was met by a vicious right hand by his opponent. Matt raised his arms up and flashed the Hardy Gunz sign at Lita and his bride-to-be cheered and applauded.

JR continued his commentary. "A big time right hand by Matt Hardy, and Hardy going downstairs on Gene Snitsky. A reversal by the youngster, and Snitsky with a slingshot move off the ropes. That'll turn the momentum that Matt has in a hurry. Snitsky going for the cover, and Hardy quickly kicking out. A blatant choke right in front of the referee. Let's see the replay. Hardy just went downtown with that roundhouse right."

"It didn't keep Snitsky down for long, did it, JR? Snitsky's throwing a few punches of his own now."

Lita shouted encouragements at her husband-to-be. "C'mon, Matt!"

"Snitsky's a very tough young man." Snitsky floored Hardy with a vicious right of his own. Matt's head bounced off the canvas as he went down, and Lita flinched. JR continued. "Lita's looking on with a concerned look on her face. And there's another cover. Hardy barely able to get out of that one."

"There's another shot of Lita, JR. I have to admit that pregnancy looks quite lovely on her."

JR didn't hear his colleague. "Ooh! Snitsky and Matt trading punches now. A right by Snitsky, and a right by Hardy. Just trading blows, now. It's turned into a slugfest! Irish whip now, Hardy reverses it, and Snitsky dumped over the top rope and onto the arena floor! Hardy showing his experience and his toughness, and…"

"JR, did he just wave to Lita?"

"Not sure—Hardy with a cross-body over the top rope, and it found its mark!" JR exclaimed, as Lita shouted and whistled at the risky maneuver.

Lawler asked, "Do you think Matt would have taken that risky shot if Lita wasn't there, JR? That can be a curse and a blessing, with her at ringside."

"He probably would have, King. Matt is known for taking some high risks. But you would know all about women problems." Matt hit Snitsky with the Side Effect. "Wow! Hardy planting Snitsky into the mat. A cover—Snitsky kicks out, barely."

Matt climbed to his feet to set up his next move, but Snitsky hit him with a short-arm clothesline. "A hard shot. Snitsky's not going down that easily." Matt clutched the back of his head as Gene attempted to set him up for a piledriver. Matt reversed the attempt and back body-dropped Snitsky onto the canvas. Matt staggered into a corner to catch his breath, as Lita shouted at him.

Snitsky charged into the corner, but Matt put his feet up at the last minute and drove them into the youngster's face. Snitsky dropped to the mat, and Matt climbed onto the second turnbuckle. With a shout, jumped off the turnbuckle and nailed Snitsky with a leg drop. "Matt's taking some chances here tonight," JR pointed out. "You can crash and burn, or you—"

Lawler interrupted as Matt set up his opponent. "Actually these chances are paying off."

Matt let out a yell. "Hardy—wow! A textbook Twist of Fate!" JR exclaimed. "A cover—and Hardy beats Bischoff's hand-picked opponent!"

Lita applauded in triumph and climbed into the ring as Matt's entrance music started up.

Matt let the ref raise his arm, and then offered a hand to his defeated opponent. "Helluva match, Kid. You're no slouch." Snitsky nodded in respect as Matt helped him up.

"Thanks. Hey, sorry about insulting your girl. I'm supposed to be the bad guy. No hard feelings?"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Matt smirked and gestured towards his fiancée, who stepped into the ring, with a rather annoyed look on her face.

Lita folded her arms and glared at the young tough. "No hard feelings, but if you ever insult me again, I'll kick your ass. Word of advice? Don't ever piss off a pregnant woman." Snitsky nodded and bailed out of the ring and lumbered backstage for a hot shower and a rubdown from the trainers.

Matt grinned and raised Lita's arm in the air, and then kissed her gently on the lips. _Nothing to worry about, _he thought laughingly as he stepped out onto the ring apron and prepared to hold the ropes open for his fiancée. _You got worked up over nothing!_

He was wrong.

Amid the roaring of the crowd, Matt thought he heard Lita screaming.

~~~TIME~~~

It happened so fast.

One moment, Lita was about to step through the ring ropes. The next moment, a wave of dizziness swept over her, and she lost her balance. Frantically, Lita grabbed the ring ropes to steady herself, vaguely aware of the referee rushing over to check on her. Then, a pain almost as thick as a tree trunk and bright like lightning, shot through her belly, up her back and through the rest of her body. She screamed as her vision exploded in red.

"Oh, no! NO!" JR exclaimed as he and Lawler looked on in shock. "Something is very wrong!"

"One second JR, she was standing there celebrating with Matt, the next moment, she just collapsed!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, something is _very wrong_ with Lita! She's lying on the mat writhing in agony."

~~~TIME~~~

"Lita, Lita! Baby I'm right here! What's wrong?"

Lita managed to pry her eyes open. Her vision was blurry, and she was vaguely aware of people around her. Someone was kneeling behind her, and another was gazing down at her, stroking her hair. She recognized the face gazing down at her. "Matt?"

"I'm right here, Baby. Stay with me."

"I hurt," Lita whimpered. Tears rolled down her face.

Matt was pale and shaking. "Lita, baby. I know it hurts, but you gotta tell me what's wrong."

The pain in her body was so horrendous, she could barely speak. "The baby," she managed, clutching her belly.

Matt turned white at the mention of Lita's baby. Trying hard not to panic, Matt slid out of the ring and reached beneath the ropes to gently pull Lita out and gather her into his arms. Lita. Matt glanced down at his fiancée, who wrapped her arms around Matt's neck and continued to whimper in agony, and gasped in horror at what he saw.

A bright red spot had stained the front of her pants. And it was spreading rapidly.

Every nerve in Matt's body screamed _MOVE! _Ignoring the referee, who was shouting at him to not move Lita, Matt bolted down the aisle and up the entrance ramp.

"Matt should have waited for the EMT's!" exclaimed Lawler, as he and the stunned audience watched the drama unfold.

"I don't think he wants to wait for the EMT's, King!" JR said. "Matt may have seen something that made him decide to rush Lita backstage himself. He looks absolutely panic-stricken." Gathering his composure, JR continued. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not part of the show. This looks like a real-life emergency, and we're gonna go to a commercial break. Hopefully, things will settle down somewhat, and we'll be able to continue…"

~~~TIME~~~

"HELP! HELP!" Matt shouted frantically, as he rushed down the hall, ignoring the shocked and sad looks of everyone backstage. The look on his face was desperate, and Lita continued to bleed out. "Something's wrong with her! I need help!"

Thankfully, the EMT's, who had been on their way to the ring, caught up to Matt and helped him set Lita down on a stretcher. "She just collapsed and she's bleeding," he managed, as some of the medics began working on Lita right there in the hallway. "She said something's wrong with the baby."

The noise and confusion was beginning to fade away and blend into a white noise that blocked everything out. Matt was vaguely aware of someone putting a hand on his shoulder and leading him gently away. He realized that he was either growing numb or going into some kind of shock.

"Matt?...Matt?...MATT!"

Matt blinked and realized that Jay was right in his face. "God, I'm so sorry—"

"Matt, don't be. Anna and I are gonna take you to the hospital so you can be with Lita."

Matt shook his head in confusion. "I don't…I don't know what happened. One minute she was fine, and the next she's all bleeding out…" He glanced down at himself. Blood had stained his arms and hands and chest. "I..don't know what to do—"

Jay put his hands on Matt's shoulders. "Matt, look at me. Come on, Matty. Focus. Look at me. Look at me. You're in shock. We're gonna take care of you. Anna and I are gonna take you to the hospital. Adam and Tyson are getting your stuff together. We're gonna take care of you, okay?"

Matt nodded. "Okay," he managed before he blacked out…

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: WOW! It's scary how things can change in just 24 hours! I was going to write a no-DQ match, during which Snitsky hit Matt with a chair and Matt falls on Lita, kinda like when Snitsky hit Kane. But I guess the freak incident/collapse worked better.**

**The title of this chapter is from the song _Time Bomb_ by Rancid. It just seemed appropriate in a morbid sort of way.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE**


	4. Only Time Will Tell

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I managed to slip away and bang out a few chapters. I hope you're all staying happy and cool and safe in spite of the sweltering temps. Where I'm at, it's finally beginning to cool off, and we're looking for rain this week. **

**I'm gonna jump around in this chapter a bit. It's easier for me to write out the main stuff and let the readers fill in the blanks. BTW, if Adam sounds like he's out of character, a big fat SORRY! I have no idea how my Addy muse got so snarky, but he wound up that way in this chapter.**

_**Chapter Four-Only Time Will Tell**_

"I just got off the phone with Jay," Adam explained to Jeff over the phone (Jeff had flown back to the States so he could honor his TNA commitments), as he unlocked his rental and began to put his and Matt's bags in the trunk. "Yeah, Lita's in surgery right now. She collapsed in the ring right after Matt's match tonight, practically in a pool of blood. Matt was all freaked out. For him to have to see that...I feel so horrible for him. He's gonna need a lot of support right now. I know your schedule's keeping you away. It's not your fault you can't be here. I will. I'll definitely keep you all posted. Yeah. Tell him hi for me. I love you too. 'Bye."

Adam ended the call and then shoved his cell phone into his jacket pocket. He slammed the trunk lid shut and prepared to climb into the driver's seat when he was aware of a huge presence behind him. He turned around and came face to chin with the man he defeated earlier..

Normally, when Kane snuck up behind someone, he usually scared them half to death with his mere presence. But Adam didn't scare easily. He glared up at the now street clothes wearing Big Red Machine with an expression that was more annoyed than frightened.

"You need to wear a fucking bell," was all he said.

Well, that wasn't what Kane was expecting to hear. He managed to regain his composure. "Look, Adam. I know you're going to the hospital to be with Matt and Lita."

"Way to figure that out, Captain Obvious. What was your first clue? The bags I was stowing in the trunk? The phone call?"

"Don't get smart with me!" Kane snapped. He paused. "Look, I know I'm not anyone's friend on either roster. But can you at least do a favor for me?"

Adam cocked his head and regarded the Big Red Machine with suspicion.

Kane took that as a good sign and continued. "I know I'm banned from any physicality with either Matt or Lita. But can you at least let me know how the baby is doing?"

"Why should I? You have no claim to it anymore."

"I'm the biological father! Out of common decency, I should stay informed-"

"_Common decency?"_ Adam stared up at the Big Red Machine in disgust. "Oh, I'm sorry. I guess the Kane that we all know and loathe was kidnapped by aliens and I'm talking to some clone in its place. Where the hell do you get off? _You're_ the one who decided to barge in and try to take what isn't yours! You commit kidnapping, rape, and assault, and you're standing here talking to _me_ about _common decency? _You gave up common decency, not to mention any rights to Lita's baby, when you lost last night! You hypocrite!"

Kane snarled and lunged at the Intercontinental Champ. Angrily, he grabbed Adam by the front of his jacket and tried to shove him up against the rental car. On instinct, Adam shifted his weight and pivoted, knocking the Big Red Machine off balance.

Instead, it was _Kane _who got shoved up against the rental. "Don't come up on me, Kane! You know what I just said is true."

Kane nodded. "Okay, I know I gave all of that up! But I fathered that child! I should at least know if the baby's gonna live or not!" Kane stepped away from the rental and paced around, his hands clenching the back of his head. Adam had put him on the spot, and he didn't like it at all. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. "Adam, I don't do this often...but please. Just a phone call. A text. _Something."_

"If you're so desperate to find out the baby's condition," Adam fired back, "Then why don't you suck it up, be a man, and go and talk to Matt and Lita yourself. Because I REFUSE to be a go-between." He climbed into the rental and started it up. Kane approached him carefully, and Adam locked eyes with him. "Look, Kane. You made the bed, so it's time to lie in it."

And with that, Adam drove away, leaving the Big Red Machine to stand and contemplate his next move.

A lump rose in Kane's throat as he lumbered off. The last thing he'd expected from this drama was to be forced to face the consequences of his actions. He'd just wanted what everyone else took for granted-a wife, a child, a family, and a successful career-and it didn't matter how he achieved it. In his head, the ends justified the means, and to have everything blow up in his face in such a spectacular fashion was difficult to accept.

Adam's words rang painfully in Kane's ears. _You commit kidnapping, rape, and assault, and you're standing here talking to me about _common decency? _ You gave up common decency, not to mention, any rights to Lita's baby, when you lost last night! You hypocrite!_

Kane sighed. He didn't want to admit to himself that Adam was right, but now he had to. Perhaps he didn't deserve to be in his child's life. But Matt and Lita deserved an apology, or at least an explanation, for everything he'd done to them.

And in that moment of clarity, the Big Red Machine realized what he had to do...

~~~TIME~~~

"Thanks," sighed Tyson, as he gratefully took the steaming cup of coffee from Anna's hands. It was nearly 10 at night, and Lita had been in surgery for over an hour.

Jay and Anna had driven a nearly catatonic Matt to the hospital, accompanied by Tyson and Trish. Anna sat in the front passenger's seat so that Jay could reach over and squeeze her hand in reassurance. Tyson sat in the back, offering whatever support he could to Lita's fiancee. Trish had put her hand gently on Matt's back to comfort him, and had been surprised at how tense he was.

Once they'd all arrived at the hospital, they learned from the receptionist that Lita had been wheeled into the OR for emergency surgery. Then they were ushered into a waiting room to bide their time while Lita was being worked on. Anna and Jay decided to keep themselves busy and finagled some coffee, some orange juice, and some donuts from the cafeteria. It was a thoughtful gesture, one that allowed everyone to fill the time between arriving at the hospital and hearing the latest updates on Lita's condition with a few empty calories.

Adam yawned and nibbled on one of the donuts. "What time is it?"

"Fifteen minutes later than the last time you asked," Jay sighed, as he took a seat next to Matt. "You doing okay?"

"I'm holding up," Matt sighed. He'd broken out of his catatonia, and now he just looked exhausted. The trip here had been a complete blur. He couldn't remember when he'd changed out of his ring gear and he had no memory of riding with Jay and Anna. Maybe it was a good thing that his last memory was of kissing Lita and rubbing her belly before she stepped out of the ring before his match.

"Donut?" Jay offered him a chocolate raised pastry.

Matt shook his head and reached for the cup of coffee that had been set in front of him. Taking a shaky sip, he said, "Not yet. I wanna find out about Lita first." Glancing down, he realized how much he was trembling, and he set his coffee cup down so that he wouldn't spill it. "Why, Jay?"

"Why, what?" Jay ventured, his voice soft.

"Why do all the bad things happen to us?" Matt wondered, with tears in his voice. "We just want a happy life. A good life. We've been through so much, Lita and I. It's like every time we have a taste of some happiness, it gets blown to pieces. It's almost like we're been doomed ever since Lita and I got back together. Is there something wrong with us? With me?"

"Matt, look at me." Jay's voice was soft, but firm. "You and Lita did nothing wrong. I know you don't believe that right now, but you haven't done anything wrong.

Matt didn't say anything, but he held Jay's gaze; Jay took that as a good sign.

He continued. "This may sound like a cliche, but my mom used to say that when bad things happen, they usually happen in threes. I think the kidnapping and the..._arrangement._..were one and two. This was number three. That's what I think anyhow. But I think you and Lita have gone through the absolute _worst_ the past few months, and you both are due for some happier days. You just gotta keep the faith. "

Matt nodded. In his numbed state, the words weren't registering yet, but he knew they were sincere.

A female doctor in scrubs entered the waiting room. "Excuse me. Are you all here for Lita?" Lita's friends got out of their chairs. "Hi," she said, her voice soft but confident. "I'm Dr. Rachel Keyes, I'm Lita's doctor. I'm taking care of her right now."

"How's she doing?" Anna asked.

"She's stable and resting right now. I can't tell you much more than that. Doctor-patient confidentiality. She turned and fixed her eyes on Matt. Her expression grew serious. "And I assume you're Matt?"

"Yes. I'm Lita's _fiancé_ and the baby's daddy. How's Lita and the baby?"

"Can I take you aside for a few minutes. I have some very serious information to discuss with you..."

~~~TIME~~~

_Lita stood in shock at ringside as Kane's music thundered through the arena. The match between Kane and Matt was over, and Matt lay unconscious in the center of the ring following the Big Red Machine's devastating chokeslam from the top rope._

_Lita tried to choke back the lump in her throat and felt hot, unshed tears prickle her eyes. Lita staggered numbly down the aisle back to the dressing room. She didn't dare look back. She wanted to at least see if Matt would be alright (EMTs were swarming around him), but she couldn't allow herself to make eye contact with Kane, her new fiancé. Kane lumbered towards Lita. His arms were outstretched, and a sick grin was on his lips._

"_Come to Papa, Lita!" rumbled the Big Red Machine. _

_Lita hid her face in her hands. The tears were beginning to slide down her cheeks as she fled to the safety of the backstage. She was vaguely aware of Kane following her in slow pursuit. It was going to be a wicked wedding, with a gruesome groom and a heartbroken bride..._

_A metal door loomed in front of her. Frantically, she shoved it open and found herself walking down an empty hall..._

_"Lita. Just one second, if you don't mind."_

_Lita turned and groaned silently. Jonathan Coachman was approaching her quickly, microphone in hand. "Do you have any comments for the entire world, now that you're forced to marry Kane?"_

_Lita tried to ignore the annoying interviewer. No use. Coach, not knowing when to quit, followed her. "I mean, I mean the wedding is one week from tonight, live. Right here on RAW. What is going through your mind right now?"_

_Lita turned and shook her head. "I just wanna be left alone, Coach," she managed, looking desperately for a place to escape. To her left was a door labeled _Women's Locker Room. _Maybe she could take refuge here for a few minutes._

_Lita nudged open the door and trudged inside._ Why is it so dark? _Lita wondered, as she flipped on the light..._

_"SURPRISE!"_

_At first things didn't quite register. Then, as she glanced around the cramped, brightly-lit room, Lita noticed the cheap plastic banner on the wall that read _Congratulations Lita and Kane!_ emblazoned across it in bold red letters. Bouquets of white balloons were hung on either end. There was a table with a pan of what looked like brownies on it in one corner of the room. Adjacent to that was another table laden with what looked like gift boxes piled on top of it._

_The girls cheering and applauding-Jazz, Trish, Gail, and Molly-didn't look like the friends that she knew. They all looked like parallel universe versions of themselves, with sneers in place of smiles and jeers instead of laughter and kind words. Lita glanced around in wide-eyed shock in search of a friendly face. There were none. _

_Trish smiled and got right into her face. "Hey, Lita!_

_Lita shook her head in disgust. "What the hell is this?"_

"_Well, we figured you were feeling a little down, you know, because you have to marry, well, you know who. So I thought, _hmmm. How can we turn that frown upside down? _So the Divas and I decided to throw you a bridal shower!"_

_Gail, Molly, Trish and Jazz applauded, obviously enjoying Lita's discomfort._

_"Congratulations," Jazz purred._

_"But don't thank us yet," Trish continued, before Lita was able to say a word. "Thank us after the presents. Yes, there's presents!" She turned to the redhead with the pixie hair and the smug grin. "Right, Molly?"_

_"That's right." Molly took a small box off the table and drew closer. "Well Lita, since you like to sleep around so much, I got you something that you could really use," she said, as she opened the gift box. "First, there is...birth control pills," she explained, taking out the little package. "And of course, not to forget..." Molly reached in and pulled out a large black box with MAGNUM emblazoned in gold letters across the front. "Condoms!"_

_Lita tried to keep a poker face as Trish led her friends in an off-key chorus of the "Trojan Man" jingle._

_Gail was the next to strike. "Lita, I know you seem really upset that you have to marry Kane, but...Look guys." She held up a framed portrait of Kane and Lita the night he cornered her in the ring. "Their first kiss!" Gail announced, as the girls _awwwed _obnoxiously._

Come on! Steady breaths! Don't panic! Stay calm! _ordered the voice in Lita's head. Lita remembered the terror that coursed through her body, and the disgust she felt as Kane put his sweaty hands on her face and pressed his cold, clammy lips against hers like it had happened yesterday. It was the last thing she wanted to remember, and it made her stomach clench harder._

_"You two are obviously in love," Gail continued, setting the portrait aside and reaching for what looked like another. "And you don't have to worry about the baby, because we had a composite made," she explained, holding it up. "And look! It's a beautiful baby. He's got your eyes-well, one of your eyes."_

_The picture looked hideous. It was one half of Kane's face put together with one half of Lita's face put on the body of an infant. It was the ugliest thing Lita had ever seen next to Kane himself._

_Lita glanced quickly towards the door, waiting for it to open, and hoping that someone would appear to rescue her _

_Trish giggled and pointed at the portrait. "And one of Kane's, too," she remarked as her buddies cackled in laughter. "But we saved the best for last. You ready?" A pause. "Jazz?_

_"That's right, Baby!" Jazz answered, sidling up to Lita like a cat. She was holding something behind her back. "On those long cold nights when Kane's out of town..." She held up a big white box with a decorative bow on top and nearly dropped it as she practically shoved it into Lita's face. Lita jumped back in surprise—as did Gail, Trish, and Molly—when she realized the package was _vibrating!

_"A Big Red Machine of your own!" Jazz announced. The girls howled in laughter as Jazz tried to shove the gift into Lita's hands. "Here. Take it!"_

_"Batteries included!" Trish added. A smug grin crossed her face as she turned to her rival. "Okay, Lita. You can thank us now."_

_Lita had had enough. White faced and sick, she turned on her heel and stalked out of the room without taking any of the gifts. Trish followed right after her. "Wait!" Lita heard Trish say, but she refused to acknowledge her. "Hey, we tried real hard to put this party together, come on!" Finally, Trish caught up to Lita and cornered her. "What about your condoms? You'll need them for next week..."_

_...The next thing she knew, Lita found herself in a private dressing room, unpacking her things and trying to keep her mind off of the wedding she didn't want. This trip down the aisle would be like a walk to the the gas chambers or the electric chair. It felt more like an execution than a wedding._

_A pounding on the closed door interrupted her gloomy thoughts. Lita stood up and glared. "Get out!" she snarled._

_Kane barged in, a garment bag slung over his shoulder. The Big Red Machine circled his bride-to-be and looked her up and down. Lita flinched, feeling like a piece of property._

"_Look I know you want me to leave," Kane began. "I know it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding. But I couldn't help it. There is nothing that is going to ruin this wedding tonight." He paused. "Our wedding. This night is very special to me, Lita. It is going to be an all white affair, to signify the purity of my child that you'll be carrying. "That's why I'm going back on something I once said." Kane opened the garment bag. "That's why I want you to wear this."_

_With that, he pulled a wedding gown of snow-white satin out of the bag. It was rather lovely, with embroidery on the train. He chuckled as he fluffed out the full skirt._

_Kane caught the look of disgust in Lita's eyes as she stared at the dress. His eyes narrowed and his voice grew sharper. "Look, I know you don't want to do this, Lita, but you're up." Another chuckle escaped him as he tilted Lita's chin up so he could stare into her face. "Because after all, it's a nice day for a white wedding."_

_With that, Kane turned and left, his laughter echoing down the hall..._

_...Lita gazed at her reflection in the mirror. She had slipped into the wedding gown and put on the matching veil. The dress was quite flattering, with a halter style neckline that left her shoulders bare. It was embellished with delicate white embroidery that gave the dress enough detail without it being too ostentatious. The back had a short train trimmed in white lace. It was a beautiful dress by any standards, one that Lita would have been happy to wear if the circumstances were different._

_As she looked into the mirror, she thought,_ This should have been Matt's and my wedding day! _Snarling in anger, she picked up a pitcher of water and hurled it into the mirror. The pitcher shattered, and water spilled everywhere..._

_...Finally, the first strains of the familiar bridal chorus sounded to announce Lita's arrival. Lita stalked across the stage to the entrance ramp, with a hateful glare pasted across her face. Instead of the snowy-white gown Kane had picked out for her, she was dressed in a black gown and veil. The white bouquet she carried stood out in sharp contrast to the black as night satin._

_The music turned ominous as Kane's expression transformed from joy to smoking rage. Lita locked eyes with her groom-to-be. Aware of the fury in Kane's eyes, but choosing to ignore it, Lita continued down the aisle. _

_Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she climbed up the steps to the makeshift wedding chapel that was not just bland, but blinding in its whiteness. She glanced up at Kane and saw his expression change once more to that of amusement. "Somehow, I knew you wouldn't wear that dress," he chuckled softly._

_The pastor cleared his throat. "Good evening," he began. "And welcome to the wedding of Kane and Lita. Tonight is a very special night as we unite these two in holy matrimony. But, before we commence, there's a man who has something very important he would like to say. A man who is very close to both the bride and the groom. He has requested this opportunity to address you both," continued the pastor. "Kane, Lita, please welcome Eric Bischoff."_

_Lita's heart sank as the general manager of RAW, holding what looked like a Bible, strutted arrogantly to the top of the entrance ramp, wearing a smirk that deserved to be slapped off of his face. _

_"First of all," he began, his smirk firmly in place, "I would just like to say how honored I am to be a part of this blessed occasion. And in the honor of the bride and groom, I'd like to take this opportunity to read one of my favorite passages from the Holy Bible. It's from Ephesians 5:25."_

_Lita rolled her eyes. _

_"Two lives, two people, so very different, yet so similar. Together we stand as one, sharing our future as it comes. The past is that past. Buds are yet to blossom, with care and trust, the best is yet to be revealed. Honesty and kindness are the fruits of love. Lord, bless this day and always to enrich us so our love may never die. Amen."_

_Lita looked on in disgust as Bischoff turned and headed backstage._

_The pastor continued. "Kane, Lita, while I don't know you personally, I gather it's clear to me that you have a very...unique relationship. And to illustrate this relationship to the entire world just how unique it is, I understand that the groom has put together a very special video. A video which will illustrate his love for you, Lita."_

_Kane gestured towards the Titantron, and Lita had no choice but to watch. It was a video showing a montage of clips of Kane terrorizing Matt and Lita, set to some cheesy country version of "You're Having My Baby". When the video mercifully reached its end, Kane wiped a tear from his eye and took Lita's hand in his to kiss it. Lita yanked it back in disgust. A female voice in the audience shouted, "Run, Lita! Run! Run, girl!"_

_The pastor caught the animosity between the couple and composed himself. "Uh...moving on, we are now ready to join you in wedlock. In the spirit of being unique, I understand that the couple has decided to write their own vows. Kane?"_

_Kane gazed down at his bride. "Lita, when I first chose you to carry my seed, I thought of you simply as an instrument, nothing more. But as the days have passed, I'm happy to say that you're more than just the woman carrying my child. You are now... my property. You are mine to do with, as I see fit. You will never know freedom, you will never again feel the embrace of another man. For there is no escape, Lita. From this day forward, until the day... you... die. You... are... mine..."_

_The pastor shuddered slightly. "Lita, would you...would you like to proceed?"_

_Lita fixed Kane with a glare that could take paint off a wall as she removed a piece of paper she'd tucked into the top of her wedding dress. "Kane, I hate you more than life itself," she began. "You are a vile, horrible man with no soul. And even though I have no choice but to marry you, I want to make it clear that I love, and will always love – Matt Hardy." At the mention of Matt's name, the crowd erupted into cheers. _

_Kane stared at Lita, the expression on his face unreadable. Lita continued. "The only joy I have now in life is in hoping and praying for you to suffer a horrible accident resulting in your painful and immediately death. I sincerely hope you rot in hell."_

_A tense moment passed. Then, to Lita's astonishment, Kane flashed his ugly smile. "That…was lovely," he said._

_The pastor looked a little more unnerved. "Per—perhaps we should proceed to the end of the ceremony. Kane, Lita, it is now time to join you in matrimony." He paused. "If there is anyone here who feels that these two should not be joined in holy matrimony at this time, please speak now or forever hold your peace!"_

_Kane looked suspiciously towards the entrance ramp. Lita glanced around, her hope rekindled slightly. _

_A pause. Then, the pastor continued. "Very well then. Lita, do you-"_

_Then, Trish's entrance music came on loud and clear through the arena. The diva appeared on the entrance ramp, dressed in a white lace bra and panties and matching coat. A smirk graced her pretty features as she held up a microphone._

_"I'm sorry, Father," she said to the pastor as she started towards the makeshift chapel. "I'm not here to stop the ceremony. I'm simply here to show my support to my…very good friend, Lita._ _You know, I thought it was just plain terrible that on your big night, you didn't even have a maid of honor! So I thought to myself, who better…than me?I even wore white! Because I knew that you couldn't."_

_Lita stared at the skimpy outfit, at a loss for words._

_Trish climbed the steps up to the chapel, where she stood face to face with the bride to be. "Now Lita. I personally don't believe in sex before marriage, but I wanna let you know that I support your decisions 100 percent. I know that you're all nervous and confused about having to marry Kane, but I just wanna let you know that everything is gonna be just fine." A cruel smile flashed across Trish's face like a switchblade. "All you have to do is open your heart...just like you opened your legs."_

_Lita smacked Trish across the face with her bouquet of flowers and pounced on her like a cat, knocking her onto the carpeted entrance ramp, where she pounded Trish's head into the floor and punched her in the face. Trish screamed as she tried to protect herself from Lita's furious attack._

_Quick as a flash, Kane rushed to the fighting women and dragged Lita off of Trish. Lita struggled to break out of Kane's rock iron grip as he dragged her back to the makeshift wedding chapel. "Come on, let's go!" he barked._

_The pastor held up a hand as soon as the bride and groom had restituted themselves. "Okay. Alright. Alright." He paused briefly. "I, I think it's best for all parties that we conclude this ceremony. Lita, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"_

_Lita glanced up at her hideous groom. A leering smile was on his face as he awaited her answer. Every fiber of her being screamed, _NO! Don't do this! Tell him NO! You've let this monster manipulate you for way too long! This is your last chance, Lita! Don't do this!

_Lita moved in close so that she could be heard. She took a deep breath and gave her answer:_

_"I...I do."_

NO! That wasn't supposed to be my answer! I never wanted to marry this bastard!

_"...Kane, do you take this woman..." the pastor droned as Lita looked up in terror and Kane leered down at her. The smile on his face made her sick._

No! This isn't happening! I meant to say NO! _Lita tried to shout in protest, but the words were stuck in her throat. _Pastor, I don't wanna marry him! Please stop this ceremony!

_"...to be your lawfully wedded wife?"_

No! No! Stop! I don't wanna do this! _Lita's eyes darted to the entrance ramp, hoping desperately that someone would come out and stop this abomination. The ramp was empty. Trying desperately not to hyperventilate, Lita looked over at the pastor as he droned on. _Okay, stay calm! Just watch him talk. Just watch his mouth form the words. Don't panic!

_"...For richer, for poorer..."_

NO! STOP!

_"...In sickness and in health..."_

I can't stay calm! Please! I can't do this! This has got to be a mistake!

_"...till death do you part?"_

_Lita raked her fingers through her hair in sick anticipation for her husband-to-be's response. Kane stood over her, a superior look on his ugly face. The tension was unbearable._

_Suddenly, a familiar piece of music blasted through the arena, sending the crowd into a frenzy._

_Kane glanced over in annoyance at the top of the entrance ramp in anticipation for his nemesis to show up._"Hardy!"he growled, his annoyance turning into rage."How dare you interrupt! Show yourself!"

_Gasping in surprise and joy, Lita spun around to wait for her rescuer. She had to clap her hands over her mouth to keep from shouting._

"Where are you, Hardy?" _Kane bellowed, stepping out of the converted ring. He began to walk back up the ramp, shouting, _"Come on and end this, you pathetic fool! Come on! Come on!"

_Kane stopped and waited, trying to keep a lid on his barely seething temper. "You must've changed your mind, Hardy! Guess you really don't like damaged goods after all-"_

_It happened in an instant. A blur of dark hair and cargo pants leaped at the Big Red Machine just as he was turning to go back to the altar and knocked him down to the floor. A flurry of fists battered the tuxedo-clad man before he was able to recover his wits. The crowd erupted as they recognized the attacker._

"Get away from Lita, you freak!"

_Matt shoved Kane into one of the ring posts and came after him. He nailed him with a boot to the midsection, and hit his signature Twist of Fate move on his nemesis. Kane dropped to the floor like a bag of potatoes, stunned and half-conscious._

_"Matt! You came back!" Lita shouted. It was all she could do to keep from jumping for joy like a little girl._

_Matt staggered up the steps, rubbing the back of his head. "I couldn't let him do this! Let's get the hell out here!"_

_Taking Lita by the hand, Matt rushed down the steps and out of the ring. They got halfway up the ramp when they turned around. Kane was beginning to stir._

"Lita! Come on!" _Matt exclaimed, just as his nemesis stood up._

_WHOOSH! A sudden blast of heat caused Matt to stagger back and Lita to lose her balance and fall to her knees. When they both glanced up, a wall of fire had suddenly erupted, blocking Matt and Lita's escape._

_Kane climbed to his feet and stalked over to the fallen couple._

_Matt tried to help Lita back to her feet. _"We can make a run for it! Get up! Hurry!"

_Lita struggled. _"My foot's stuck! I can't get up!"

_Matt managed to get his girlfriend to struggle back to her feet when Kane reached them. Bellowing, Kane threw a roundhouse right that Matt ducked out of the way of. In her attempt to escape the fisticuffs, Lita lost her balance again and dropped to her knees. With as much fury as he could muster, Matt slugged the Big Red Machine several times, causing the groom-to-be to stagger back._

_"You're not taking her away from me again!" snarled Matt as he rushed his nemesis._

_Mistake_

_Kane lifted up his leg and caught Matt in the face with the heel of his dress boot. The blow knocked Matt down onto the entrance ramp, dazed and clutching the back of his head from where he'd landed._

_"Matt!" screamed Lita. "Get up! Hurry!"_

_Matt climbed unsteadily to his feet, unwilling to give up the fight. But Kane was waiting for him. As soon as he came after him, Kane grabbed him by the shirt and tossed him onto the stage. Matt nearly fell, but he grabbed the podium that was on the stage for support._

_Matt glanced up in time to stare up into Kane's ugly face._

_"Try to ruin my wedding night, will you?"_

_With those words, Kane grabbed Matt around the throat in one hamlike fist and lifted him up off the ground. Matt tried in terror to pry off the fingers that had a near death grip on his neck._

_"She's my property now!"_

_Lita managed to climb to her feet and rushed up the entrance ramp."NO! PUT HIM DOWN!"she screamed._

_Kane locked eyes with his horrified bride-to-be. "I do!" he laughed loudly, before he tossed Matt like a rag doll off the stage and onto the floor some fifteen feet below. Matt's body hit the ground with a sickening thud amid the horrified shouting of the fans._

"MATTY! NOOOOO!" _screaming and sobbing, Lita crawled to the edge of the stage. Matt lay limp and unresponsive. She couldn't tell if he was unconscious or-_

_"He can't save you now, Lita. I've sent him to the depths of Hell."_

"You bastard! I hate you!"_ Lita wailed as Kane dragged her by the arm back to the makeshift chapel._

_"I don't care," Kane shot back, smiling. In spite of the fight Lita continued to put up, she knew she was broken._

_"What are you waiting for?" Kane barked at the pastor. "LET'S GO! LET'S FINISH THIS!"_

_The pastor looked scared to death. "Kane, do you take Lita to be your wife?"_

_Incredibly, Kane took the time to straighten out his tie and adjust his tuxedo jacket. He glanced down at Lita and saw the empty look in her eyes. A smile creased his lips as he said, "I DO!"_

_"Then by the power vested in me," stammered the pastor, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You—you can kiss the bride!"_

_Kane bent down and pressed his lips against Lita's. Then, one last surge of fight welled up in her and she flailed her arms and struggled. But it was too late._

_Kane's pyro lit up the arena in reds and oranges, and his God-awful theme music blasted through the speakers. Proudly, Kane led his new wife down the steps of the altar before he stopped and swooped her up in his arms._

_Lita sagged in Kane's grip as he carried her up the ramp. He stopped and turned around and said, "Look down, Lita."_

_Dazed, Lita glanced down and began to cry at the sight of the EMT's who were swarming around Matt's broken, fallen form. _

_"Say good-bye to your boyfriend," Kane chuckled, his breath cold on Lita's skin. "You're mine now."_

_"No," sobbed Lita, completely shattered. "No...no...no..."_

~~~TIME~~~

"No...no...no," Lita whimpered as her eyes slowly opened and she became aware of her surroundings. She was lying in a hospital bed with her head propped up on some pillows. She was covered with warm, scratchy hospital sheets and a light blanket. An IV was plugged into the back of her hand, and oxygen tubes were in her nose. A heart monitor quietly bleeped away to her left.

Lita's vision was still fuzzy as she turned her head. She turned her head to the side and noticed someone fast asleep, his body stretched out as much as the chair he sat in would allow. It took a moment to recognize who was in her room.

"Matty?" she croaked.

Matt sighed, stirred and opened his eyes. He sat up and yawned, his eyes squeezing to slits in the process. A weary smile crossed his face. "Welcome back," he said, pulling the chair up close and sitting back down. He reached over and took his fiancee's hand.

"Where am I?" Lita managed, her voice hoarse.

"You're in the hospital," Matt said, gently stroking the side of Lita's face. "You remember what happened?"

Lita closed her eyes and nodded. "I was at ringside, and I got really dizzy, then there was...the worst pain I'd ever felt in my life, and I guess I passed out, because I don't remember anything after that."

Matt nodded. "It's probably good that you don't remember. I don't remember much of it either." He paused. "I called your mom, and she's on her way here."

"God, she must be freaking out right now."

"She's got every right to freak out. She's your mom." Matt took Lita gently into his arms. Lita sighed and leaned into him. "Don't talk too much," Matt admonished her, gently. "You just had emergency surgery."

Lita sniffled and moved as close to Matt as her sore body would allow. "I had this awful dream. Kane beat you at Summerslam, and then I was at this bridal shower from hell. Then I was at this weird wedding, and I said I do to Kane. You showed up and beat up Kane, but when you and I tried to escape, there was this wall of fire, and then Kane grabbed you and tossed you off the stage." Tears leaked from Lita's eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "He was laughing as he carried me away."

Matt shuddered as he wrapped his arms around Lita gently so as not to cause her any further discomfort. "He's not gonna bother you anymore. There's policemen at the door in case he gets any ideas." He tucked a strand of hair behind Lita's ear. "You're safe."

"Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Is the baby okay?"

Matt sighed. "Uhmmm...that's what the doctor's gonna talk to you about. It's...it's complicated."

"Oh, good. You're awake."

Matt and Lita glanced up as Dr. Keyes stepped into the room. She was holding a chart and clipboard. "I'm Dr. Keyes, I operated on you after you were brought in. Seeing you awake and talking is a very good sign. How are you feeling, Lita?"

"Sore. Tired. I'd feel better if I knew how the baby's doing."

Dr. Keyes pulled up a chair and sat down. "That's what I'm here to talk to you and Matt about."

Lita's eyes widened in horror. "I lost the baby, didn't I?" she asked, her bottom lip quivering. "Doc, you don't have to sugar-coat anything. I can handle the truth."

The good doctor sighed. "This is going to be difficult for me to explain, but I'll try my best..."

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: You probably hate me right now for ending this on a cliffhanger. But this chapter was a little bigger than I thought it would be (the nightmare took up quite a bit of wordage). I promise the next chapter won't be all doom and gloom and tragedy. Matt and Lita (in this story, anyway) deserve some happiness. Like Jay said, you just gotta keep the faith. The title of this chapter is from the song _Only Time Will Tell _by Asia.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE**


	5. Time Is On My Side

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Okay, Matt and Lita have gone thru so much already, so it's time for me to resolve the cliffhanger I ended the last chapter with.**

_**Chapter Five - Time Is On My Side**_

Lita clutched Matt's hand so tightly, it began to hurt. A miscarriage was the last thing that she wanted to hear, especially after everything she and Matt had gone through up to this point. Her voice wavered as she stared intently at Dr. Keyes. "You can tell me, Doc. If I lost the baby, then Matt and I need to know."

Dr. Keyes nodded. Her patient was on the verge of a freakout, so she really had no choice. "You had a rare and potentially fatal condition called a heterotopic pregnancy."

Lita loosened her grip on Matt's hand and regarded the doctor with a puzzled expression. "A what?"

"What it means is that you had two pregnancies instead of one. One pregnancy was developing where it should be, and the other was in your Fallopian tube on the left side," the doctor explained, gently. "The tubal pregnancy grew too big for you to handle, and it ruptured, which is what caused the bleeding, the pain and the dizziness."

Lita shook her head, dazed. "I don't remember much of it. Last thing I remember was me lying on the mat. I don't remember being brought here."

Matt nodded. "And I don't remember carrying you backstage, either. I guess my brain kinda turned off."

"You were in a very bad way, Lita." Dr. Keyes' expression grew somber. "Your blood pressure plummeted, and you barely had a pulse when you were brought in. You had emergency laparoscopic surgery to remove the ruptured pregnancy. Luckily, we were able to save much of the Fallopian tube and the ovary on the left side. After that, you received six units of blood. You're a universal recipient, so we were able to replenish you quickly." Dr. Keyes paused, and a reassuring smile crossed her face. "I'd say that, barring any complications, you're gonna make a full recovery. We'll move you out of Intensive Care in the morning, and you should be out of the hospital by the end of the week."

Lita nodded, but her expression was bleak. "So I did lose the baby, didn't I?"

Dr. Keyes held up her hand. "Now, I never said anything about losing a baby, Lita. I haven't finished explaining things yet. Remember what I said earlier. You had two pregnancies instead of just one. We removed the one pregnancy that ruptured. We were also able to save the one pregnancy that we know about." A pause. "Your baby's still there, Lita."

At once, the fear and tension left Lita like air from a balloon, leaving her limp and exhausted with relief. A tired smile crossed her face as she lay her head on her fiancé's shoulder. She was still trying to get her head around the fact that she'd really had a brush with death. "Oh, thank God. Thank you God," she gasped, overcome with emotion.

"We saved the baby," Dr. Keyes pointed out, "But now you're going to be at a higher risk for complications because of this incident. So that means you need to be closely monitored for the duration of your pregnancy. Which means that you're going to need to be close to your OB/GYN in the States so that he or she can make sure everything is developing properly."

Lita groaned and gazed up at her husband to be. "I guess I'm not gonna be at ringside for your matches for a while."

"It's gonna be tough not having you cheer me on. But we can do this. You can do this. You can do this for the baby."

Lita nodded. "Alright. I think I can do this. But one thing bothers me. How could this have happened?"

"I honestly can't tell you," Dr. Keyes answered. "You had no predisposing factors. Your hormone levels were where they should be because you had a normal pregnancy going on. So I'm stumped as to how this could have taken place. I guess we can chalk this up to one of those freak occurrences." She paused, and then stood up. "I'm going to contact your OB/GYN in the States and arrange to have your medical records sent over so that I can treat you properly. And in the meantime, I want you to get some rest. Your body's been through a lot these past several hours."

"I will," Lita nodded. "Thank you."

"Well at least it's a happy ending," Matt nodded, reaching up to shake Dr. Keyes' hand. "Words can't express our gratitude right now.

"I'm happy to hear that. I'm going to do my rounds. If you need anything, feel free to page one of the on-duty nurses. Both of you have a good night." With those words, Dr. Keyes made her exit from the room, closing the door gently behind her.

When the doctor was safely out of earshot, Matt shuddered and blinked back tears. "You almost died, Lita. I almost lost you...I thought I'd lost you both."

"I guess it wasn't time for me to go yet," Lita sighed, unable to really say much more at the moment. Closing her eyes, she snuggled up next to Matt as much as her sore body would allow and let her mind drift.

Lita had gotten herself into a hell of a predicament involving Matt and Kane, a predicament that she'd regretted. But the one thing she didn't regret was her pregnancy. At first, learning that Kane was the biological father devastated her. But that changed when she started feeling her baby move inside of her, fluttering away in her belly like a butterfly's wings. Her brush with death changed her point of view even more. Now, she wanted nothing more than to give birth to her baby, among the company of family and friends, and alongside her future husband.

The moment of peace was interrupted by a commotion outside the door. There was a loud knock, and then it opened up. Jay poked his head through the doorway, his hair mussed and his face flushed. "Sorry if I'm interrupting something, guys. But there's an uninvited guest in the waiting room, and he's demanding to talk to you, Matt."

Matt straightened up in his chair, tensing up slightly. "Dare I ask who it is?"

"Kane."

Matt leaped angrily to his feet. Lita blanched, and her heart began to race.

Jay shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry. I don't know how he got here. He must have followed Adam in his own car or something." He stepped back and ushered Anna and Trish into the room. "I'm sending in the girls. I know Anna and Trish can handle their own business, but the situation's getting out of hand, and I figured the cop outside the door can look after them." A pause. "I know that Kane's barred from any physicality with the two of you-"

Matt leaned over and kissed Lita gently, and then followed Jay out the door. "But there's nothing in the contract that bars _me_ from any physicality. I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"Where've I heard that one before?" Anna smirked, as the door to Lita's room clicked shut for the second time. She plopped herself into the same chair Matt had sat in. Trish sat down next, straddling an examination stool.

"I've never been so happy to see those eyes, Lita." Trish flashed a tired smile. "You scared us all to death."

"It's okay, girls. Doctor says I'll make a full recovery."

Anna fumbled through her purse until she found a bottle of water. "I got this from the cafeteria. Thought you might like something to sip on."

Lita took the bottle gratefully and opened it. After a long sip, she said, "Did Doctor Keyes tell you what's going on?"

Trish nodded. "Matt did. So what's this about you having two pregnancies?"

Lita pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "Well, it's...complicated. But you'll be happy to know, Anna, that those baby gifts you and Jay gave me will be put to good use..."

~~~TIME~~~

A volatile scene greeted Matt and Jay when they ventured back to the waiting room. An imposing, bald figure in a black shirt and jeans was being held back by Adam and Tyson. In front of them was Dr. Keyes, who stood ramrod straight and had an angry look on her face.

"Let me go!" Kane shouted, as Tyson and Adam tried to shove him back.

Jay got into Kane's face and fixed with a look that could peel paint. "Settle down, Pal!"

"This doesn't concern you, Kane!" Tyson practically growled at the Big Red Machine.

"Yes it does! It concerns me and Matt and the baby! Now let me see him!"

"What for?" Adam barked. "You've caused enough trouble already."

"I just want to talk to him! I know I'm barred from physical contact! I'm not gonna hurt him! At least let me find out how the baby is?"

"I'm sorry, Sir," Dr. Keys said firmly, folding her arms across her chest. "But I can't discuss her condition with you. From what I've been told, you relinquished your parental rights. I could get into serious trouble if I told you-"

"But I am the baby's biological father!"

"Sir, I'm going to ask your politely to leave. If you refuse, then I will call security and have you thrown out. The choice is yours."

"I fathered that baby, I'm not leaving until someone tells me if the baby's okay!"

"STOP! LET GO OF HIM!"

Everyone turned around at the sound of Matt's voice. The expression on his face was unreadable as he approached the Big Red Machine. When he spoke, his voice was cold and quiet. "I could lay you out and have you escorted out of here if I wanted to. But I won't."

Kane locked eyes with his rival. "All I want, Matt, is to know if the baby is going to be okay. And I'm sure you wanna know why I did what I did to you and Lita. I owe you an apology, or at least an explanation."

For a single crackling second, Matt looked like he was ready to hit the Big Red Machine. But then he reconsidered. "Alright. You and I are gonna have a little chat. I'll update you on Lita and the baby on one condition. You are going to tell me the truth about why you did what you did to the both of us. And I don't wanna hear it from the Big Red Machine or the Devil's Favorite Demon or whatever you decide to call yourself. I wanna hear it from _you. The man." _

Slowly, Kane nodded, his expression resigned.

"Okay. Let's go find someplace quiet for us to talk..."

~~~TIME~~~

The hospital cafeteria was still open, but it was quiet, save for a few people dressed in scrubs grabbing a sandwich or sitting down to eat a quick meal. Matt bought two bottles of water and ushered Kane to a table at the far corner of the cafeteria, next to the window. He sat down and put one of the water bottles in front of Kane.

"You might need this," he explained, before Kane had a chance to say anything. Once they were both seated, Matt opened his bottle of water and took a large sip. Then, he spoke.

"Okay. You know the deal. You tell me why you targeted Lita and me, and I'll tell you what's going on with the baby. And let me remind you that there's nothing in the that contract we all signed that bars _me _from any physicality with you. Any funny business, and I won't hesitate to take advantage of that little detail. Do we read each other?" Kane nodded. "Okay then...spill."

Kane glanced out the cafeteria window. "For all these months, everyone assumed that all Lita was to me was a womb, and that I hated the baby as much as everyone thought I hated her. That I wanted the baby so that I could bring it up to hate the world like I did and make it into a bitter and twisted _mini-me._ And that's the problem. Everyone _assumed._ They _all_ assumed."

"You didn't give anyone a reason to think otherwise."

Kane turned his attention back to Matt, his voice slightly irritated. "You gonna interrupt me, or will you let me talk?" Matt nodded and fell silent.

"You know, when there's nothing to do between matches and house shows, and you're cooped up in your hotel room, you find things to keep you busy," Kane explained. "I like to watch TV. Discovery, TLC, that kind of stuff.

"There was this documentary on TLC the other night." Matt nodded again. "This one girl explained why she was trying to be a mother at the age of fifteen. She said her homelife was hell. Abuse, drugs…I won't go into it all. But she said that she felt worthless. Unloved. She said that if she could become a mom and take care of and raise a baby, she'd feel like she'd accomplished something good. She'd give her baby everything she didn't get from her own family. And her baby would be loved and be capable of giving it back. She'd be loved and respected and wanted unconditionally by her baby. She wanted unconditional love, and she was trying to find that in her baby. Do you know what I'm trying to tell you?"

Matt let the impact of Kane's words sink in. "I think so."

Kane sighed, his voice turning wistful. The gravity of what he'd done was finally sinking in, and he didn't like the way it felt. "I just wanted someone to love me. I wanted a family. A wife and child. A family I could love and be loved by. I know it would be weird and strange—me with a family—but I would have made it work. _We _could have made it work, Lita and I. I would have laid my life down for the baby. I'd have done anything I could for our baby. Let him or her know that they were safe and loved and wanted.

"And Lita...I know she didn't love me, and she probably never would. But she would have been a good mom. She would have fought to the death for our child. I love that baby, even though I can no longer claim it as mine. And I would've taken good care of it. I would've taken good care of Lita, too. Matt, I'd have done my best to be a good husband. I'd have done anything for Lita. Given her everything she wanted. I would have given her the moon on a silk pillow if she'd asked me for it." He paused. "But she never gave me a fucking chance."

Matt glanced down at the table as he allowed Kane's explanation to sink in. Like everyone else, he'd only seen the surface and assumed the worst. That Kane wanted to bring a child into the world so that he could twist and warp it into a mirror image of himself, and create someone as hurt and damaged as he was. He'd never imagined that Kane wanted what everyone else took for granted; a family with a wife and child that he could love and nurture and protect. He wanted to be a father and give his child the things he'd never had and raise him to be everything that he wasn't.

Matt took another sip out of his water bottle to fight back the lump that had unexpectedly risen in his throat. Kane was not like everyone else, that was a given. But was it right to deny him the privilege of being a husband and father just because he was different? All he'd wanted was to be loved and accepted, like anyone else. He'd just gone about it completely wrong. Of course, none of that would change anything now, but Matt was beginning to see Kane in a different light.

But it still didn't absolve the Big Red Machine of any wrongdoing.

"Okay, I get that," Matt sighed. "I get that you wanted your own family. And I'm sorry you feel like you never had a chance. But that still doesn't justify the things you did. You can call it whatever the hell you want, but the fact is, you stalked and kidnapped my fiancee. And you forced yourself on her. I don't give a flying crap what you want to call it, but you _raped_ her. And you're lucky that you did this in the confines of an arena, because if you'd done this on the outside, you would be in jail five times over."

"Of course you're sorry after the fact," Kane snorted. "But you made assumptions!" With that, he growled and smacked the table in frustration. He wasn't angry with Matt, but he was angry over the situation and the countless wrong conclusions that had been made. "Just like everyone else."

Matt set his water bottle aside and got the courage to look the Big Red Machine in the eye. "Kane," he said softly. "You can't go back and change the past. But you can change the present, and you can change your future."

Kane shook his head. "Those are empty words, Matt."

"Kane, if you are so desperate to find someone to love you, you don't go about it with anger and violence. And if you do find someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, you don't need to threaten them."

"You don't think I realize that now?"

Matt didn't know how to answer that question, so he asked him another. "Not that it'll make any difference now, but why did you choose Lita? What was so special about her that made you decide to try and possess her? And I don't wanna hear any bulls**t about how she'd fight you and you'd have fun breaking her spirit. I want _the truth."_

Now Kane was the one to stare down at the table. "You talk like I've never loved anyone before Lita ever entered the picture. I _am_ capable of loving someone. I know what it feels like to lose someone you love, too. Tori was the closest example, but you weren't around to remember that relationship.

"Do you remember a couple years back? You were on Smackdown with the whole Mattitude thing. There was a storyline on RAW that everyone despised. It was the storyline where Triple-H decided to accuse me of vehicular homicide and necrophilia. None of what he said was true. He just embellished and exaggerated the truth so he could push his career. It was like he and the creative team decided to take something tragic out of my past and turn it into a joke."

Matt nodded. "Katie Vick."

For a full minute, Kane was silent, as he reached within himself to find the courage to bare his soul. Finally, he began. "She was a friend of mine. You see, Katie and I were next door neighbors. Back when I first started wrestling. In fact, she came to my first match, and she was probably the only one that cared when I was getting beat up. I cared about her, too. Katie's dad treated me like the son he never had. And her mom was nice enough to invite me over for dinner, and she and Katie even went so far as to clean up my place while I was out of town training. I guess you could say that Katie was my first real girlfriend."

"Did you love her?"

Kane smiled slightly. "I think I did."

"Was she pretty?"

Kane nodded. "She was a cheerleader at the local high school. She had blonde curls and big green eyes, like a cat. Her smile just lit up her entire face. And she had the prettiest laugh. But it was what was on the inside that was beautiful. She was the first person who didn't care about the scars on me, or my past. To her, it didn't matter. And that made me...that made me feel important, like someone actually cared about me.

"One night Katie went to a party that was being thrown by one of her cheerleader friends. She invited me, but I was too self-conscious at the time to let myself be seen in a crowd, so she went by herself. Katie had too much to drink, and one of the boys there tried to force himself on her. So Katie called her mom, and, because she couldn't drive because her eyesight was so bad at night, Katie's mom called me. And off I went in my truck to find Katie and drive her home.

"My truck broke down when I got to where Katie was. I was gonna try and Jerry-rig the truck so that I could start it up, but then Katie insisted that we take her car because it had a working heater. I wasn't real familiar with a stick shift. It was dark, and the road was slick 'cause it was raining. I managed to get the car moving, and off we went.

"That's when a dog jumped right out in front of us. Katie reached over to grab the steering wheel so we could avoid hitting the dog. The car swerved, went off the road, and hit a tree. I broke my arm, but Katie was, uh...Katie was killed instantly. I was devastated. But it's something that I have to live with and something I've thought about every day since.

"I knew I was never gonna find another Katie. Tori came close, but it didn't work out. I thought I'd spend the rest of my life cold and broken and lonely. And that's when I first saw Lita. She doesn't look at all like Katie, but there's so much about her that reminds me of her. Lita stands out because of what she is on the inside. She's strong, and she's passionate, and she has this spark that draws everyone to her. She doesn't care about what other people think or say about her. She just does what she does, and she's happy. Doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. And that's why I picked her."

Matt nodded. The fact that Lita reminded Kane of someone he'd loved very much gave him an odd measure of comfort. "You must have really cared deeply about her. She sounds like she was a really special girl."

"You would have liked her. She and Lita probably would have been real good friends. I guess I was so desperate to keep Lita because she reminded me so much of Katie, that I just bullied her so that she'd have no choice but to let me have her."

Kane paused; the confession had left him drained, and he had to take a moment to collect himself. "Y'know, I think Katie would be spinning in her grave right now watching all of this. And she'd want nothing to do with me if I didn't move on and make some kind of peace with everything that's happened between you and me and Lita. So, the only thing that I have left to say to the two of you is what I said to Katie's parents at her funeral…I'm sorry."

Matt sighed. "I guess I'm sorry too, for a lot of things, like that'll make any difference now. All three of us did stupid things. I guess the only thing we can do now is put everything to rest and move on, and have as good a life as we can."

"Easy for you to say."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure you'll have a good life. Maybe not the one you hoped you have, but maybe it'll be a happy one all the same." Matt gazed down thoughtfully, and then held out a hand. "So...we have a truce?"

Kane gazed up and then reached across the table. "Yeah. We have a truce," he answered, squeezing Matt's hand softly. A moment later, he let go. When he spoke to Matt again, his voice was soft, and almost friendly. "Take good care of the baby. Speaking of which-"

Matt nodded and climbed out of his chair. His voice was calm. "Lita had a rare condition. She had one pregnancy where it was supposed to be, one where it wasn't. That pregnancy ruptured. She had emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. The baby's gonna be okay."

He was halfway to the cafeteria exit when he heard Kane call his name. "Hey, Matt."

Matt turned to face Kane one more time. Was he seeing things, or was there a look of gratitude on the face of the Big Red Machine? "Thank you."

"You're welcome," was all Matt said back, before he turned around and left.

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Okay, now we all know why Kane targeted Lita. Still doesn't make it right, though. Anyway, Kane's explanation was inspired from the stories _Blame_ and _Bad Decision_ by Sockospice. Those two stories summed everything up quite nicely, as far as I'm concerned. Katie Vick's story is from _Girl Next Door_ from Kung Fuu. I highly recommend that you read all of those works because they really fleshed things out.**

**Again thanks to McMahonHelmsleyEraFan for the heterotopic pregnancy idea. **

**Also, since Lita's going to have her baby (in this story, anyhow!) do you have any good baby names? And do you want a boy or a girl? **

**BTW: The chapter title is _Time Is On My Side_ by the Rolling Stones.  
**

**REVIEWS = LOVE**


	6. Chapter 6: Too Much Time On My Hands

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This was a tough chapter to put down. Had a minor case of Writer's Block, which I managed to slog thru. I found that just putting down ideas and jotting down thoughts as they pop up helps me break out of slumps like that. I don't know if works for other writers, but it works for me.**

**I also have a Photobucket folder with pictures inspired by this story. Feel free to PM me and I'll send you the link.**

_**Chapter Six – Too Much Time On My Hands**_

The next morning, Lita was moved from Intensive Care and into a private room on the fourth floor, at the end of the hallway. Her jaw dropped as she saw what was waiting for her. "Wow!" she marveled, as she was wheeled in. "This room's enormous, and look at all these flowers!"

"I guess word got around about your surgery," nodded the nurse, who helped Lita get situated. "Dr. Keyes wanted to make sure you had some privacy during your stay here. We couldn't stop the flowers from being sent in. We had so many that we had to donate them to other patients.

The room was remarkably airy and spacious, with hardwood floors, a couch that could fold out into a bed, and a big picture window that provided a great view of the city.

"Dr. Jarvis is going to take care of you from here on out," explained the nurse. "She'll be here in a few minutes to check your vitals and make sure the baby is still doing well. Now, in the meantime, don't move around too much. Just because you're now in a private room doesn't mean you can get up and run laps."

"I wasn't intending to run laps today, anyhow. I'm still kinda sore."

"On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain you've ever experienced, how would you rate the pain you're feeling right now?"

"I'd say about a three and a half, maybe a four. It's not unbearable, but it's noticeable."

"Let Dr. Jarvis know that. She can provide you with some pain medication if necessary." The nurse placed a remote control in Lita's hand. This controls the TV. There's an intercom to your left if you need to contact me or any of the other nurses on the floor. Don't hesitate to use that if you need anything."

"I won't. Thanks."

After the nurse left, Lita leaned back against her pillows and put her hands on her belly, reassured and comforted by the tiny flutter beneath her fingers. A smile tweaked across her lips. Just a week ago, she'd dreaded carrying her baby to term. Now, she couldn't wait to give birth to it. If her baby could survive a brush with death, then he—or she, it didn't really matter—could survive anything.

"I think I'll call you Flutterby from now on," Lita said to her unborn baby. She knew it sounded sappy and syrupy-sweet, but who else was listening? "I can't wait to meet you. And you've got a bunch of surrogate aunts and uncles who are excited to meet you too. Your daddy and I love you very, very much."

Lita turned on the TV and channel surfed for a while, before she settled on some sports documentary on TSN. Sighing, she fluffed up the blankets and settled in for some rest. After all the excitement the past few days, she was due for some peace and quiet.

Her friends, however, had other ideas.

~~~TIME~~~

Jay and Anna decided to barge in first. The two of them had knocked on the door and announced that they were coming in (after Dr. Jarvis had checked up on Lita, of course).

"Look at all the flowers!" Anna stuck her nose into one of the bouquets and inhaled deeply. "Oooh, these roses smell really nice! Jay, honey, you need to smell these. And you need to get me roses that smell nice."

"Oh, I need to get you roses now?" Jay chuckled as he whiffed the fresh blooms. "Oh, wow. These _do_ smell nice. But it's not my fault that whenever I get you roses, I wind up getting them from someplace that sells roses that don't smell."

"Then you'll have to find a store that sells roses that smell. Oh, wow! Check out this view! Lita, you have an awesome view."

"Thanks," Lita nodded, content to watch and listen to her surrogate kid sister and her husband banter back and forth. She didn't have the heart to ask Anna and Jay to leave. Anna was funny when she was hyper like this, and Jay was her unintentional straight man. It was quite entertaining. "I'll have to check it out later."

Anna, being so petite, knelt on the couch so that she could gaze out over the skyline. Her husband stood behind her and put his arm around his wife's waist. "This isn't a hotel by any stretch, but this view can't be beat. Jay, check out that building. It looks like a jukebox."

"Which one?"

"It's to your right," Anna tried to point out; she sucked at directions. "Not there. Look where I'm pointing. Okay, follow my finger. See, that's the one. It looks like one of those funky old jukeboxes from the 70's."

"How would you know what those look like?"

"I played pool at this bar and grill my dad went to during his boozing days. There was a cheesy looking jukebox there, next to the cigarette vending machine. I know what they look like."

"I think it looks like one of the Transformers."

"The tran—_what?" _Anna looked bewildered.

"Oh, my God. You grew up in the 80's, and you don't know about Transformers?" Lita looked like she was going to bust up laughing.

"Adam and I grew up with Transformers," chimed in Jay.

"Sorry, Jay," Anna shrugged. "I was busy playing with Barbies. I was like eight years old. And I still think that building looks like a jukebox."

The two of them continued to bicker back and forth (with Lita chuckling softly in the background) until another voice interrupted. "It doesn't take much to keep the two of you busy?"

Lita's face lit up as she recognized the figure in the doorway. _"Mom!"_

"Lita! You scared us all half to death last night," Lita's mom, an older version of her daughter minus the red hair, wrapped her daughter up in as gentle a hug as she could. "I caught the red-eye last night because I just wanted to get here as soon as I could."

"I'm so glad you made it!"

Jay glanced up from the window. "That's why Anna and I barged in like we did. We wanted to make sure you were awake so you and Christy could visit you before she got some rest, so we're not staying here long. Anna and I are her ride. We just picked her up from the airport."

"How long have you guys been up?" Lita wondered.

"Since four-thirty this morning," Anna chimed in.

"That's why Anna's all punchy," Jay laughed.

"I'm not punchy!" Anna scowled at her husband, as Lita and her mom shared a laugh. "And don't encourage them!"

"Babe, I'm not encouraging them," Jay tried to console his agitated wife. "I'm just stating a fact. You get punchy when you haven't had enough sleep."

Anna nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Okay. I'll let you win that argument." She turned her attention back towards Lita. "Oh, Matt wanted Jay and me to tell you that he'll be in later this afternoon. He's not sure what time, but he's busy talking to Todd Grisham. I guess it's something to air later this week, I guess. Trish'll swing by later, she's sleeping too. She said she'll bring you something chocolate."

"I'll look forward to it."

"And, before I forget, Lita..." Christy set the package she'd brought with her on the bed. "I saw this in a vintage store the other day and I thought of you. Thought you'd want something comfortable and glamorous to wrap up in. Consider this one of many wedding gifts I'm sure you'll be receiving."

Smiling in anticipation, Lita unwrapped the box, being careful not to rip the pretty wrapping paper, and lifted the lid. In the box, nestled in white tissue paper was a vintage style dressing gown in soft teal-colored velvet.

"Oh, Mom! This is gorgeous!" It was a beautiful gown, trimmed in cotton lace that was worthy of such glamorous movie stars as Barbara Stanwyck, or Lana Turner, or Veronica Lake. The soft color was unusual, and it set off the ivory color of the lace and the brass buttons on the sleeves beautifully. It had a Watteau back and a slight train that made it that much more unique. Lita had never seen a gown quite like this one.

She threw her arms around Christy gently. "I love this, Mom! Thank you!"

Anna whistled softly, impressed. "Wow, that's gorgeous," she marveled, climbing off the couch. "That'll look fantastic on you." She glanced over at her husband just before a yawn squeezed her eyes into slits. "Babe, I think we need to head out and crash in our hotel room for a few hours."

"Couldn't agree with you more," Jay sighed. "Lita, we're heading out. Take care of yourself. Christy, we'll wait for you in the lobby." And off he and wife went, with hugs and pecks on the cheek.

Once Jay and his wife were out of earshot, Christy pulled up a chair and sat down. "So what's this I hear about you having two pregnancies..."

~~~TIME~~~

While Lita was visiting with her mom and surrogate relatives, Todd Grisham was visiting with Matt in a conference room at the hotel close to the arena. The tone there was a little less jovial:

"Matt, since that frightening incident this past Monday on RAW," began the young interviewer. "The fans have been concerned about the status of Lita and the baby. Now, before we get to that update, I wanna start by thanking you for being gracious enough to sit down and do this interview."

"You're welcome."

"First off, how are you and Lita holding up?"

"We've been doing alright. It's been a hectic couple of days, but we're doing as well as can be expected."

"Good to hear. I'm gonna take us back to the night that Lita was rushed to the hospital. It was after a match between you and a young man named Gene Snitsky. Now, the story isn't so much the match itself as it is what happened afterwards when Lita collapsed in the ring, in front of a live audience, and on live television. Can you tell us what was going through your head at that moment?"

"Honestly, Todd...I really can't tell you. The last thing I remember from that night was kissing Lita and rubbing her belly before the match started. I don't remember the match. I don't remember going to the hospital, there's a big stretch of time where everything was a blur. The one thing I remember after that was sitting in the waiting room in the hospital with some friends waiting for an update."

"I guess what happened, Matt...what the fans saw was scary enough, but for you to actually experience it, to actually be there and have that happen right in front of you...I guess it was traumatic enough that you perhaps blanked it out of your mind."

Matt nodded. "Maybe that's a good thing."

"I understand that Lita will not be joining us?"

"She won't, no."

"How is she doing right now?"

"Her doctor doesn't want her moving around too much. Lita just got moved to a private room, and she's resting comfortably, she's in good spirits. She'll probably be released by the end of this week."

"I think that will bring us to the big question. How is the baby?"

"The baby...uhhmmm...this is gonna take some time for me to get my thoughts together."

"Oh...Matt. I'm..."

"No, no," Matt reassured the young interviewer, who looked like he was about to cry for him and Lita. "It's not that. It's just that what I'm gonna say is gonna be complicated. I wanna make sure I can put everything together properly." A pause. "Lita had a very rare complication, it's called a heterotopic pregnancy. What it means is that she had one pregnancy growing where it was supposed to, and one pregnancy that wasn't, and that one was in her left Fallopian tube. And that pregnancy grew too big for Lita to carry and it ruptured. She had emergency surgery to remove the ruptured pregnancy. And fortunately, the surgeon was able to save the one pregnancy we knew about."

"Oh, my God." Todd was genuinely shocked.

"Lita was very fortunate. If she hadn't been rushed into surgery as quick as she was, then...uhm...we'd be having a much different conversation."

"Absolutely. I don't think we should dwell on that, though." Todd said, as Matt shook his head. "What's important is that Lita's okay, and the baby is safe." The young interviewer paused and gathered his composure for his next line of questioning. "Matt, I'm going to try and be as sensitive as I can with this next set of questions. It's public knowledge that you are not the biological father of Lita's baby, and yet you have chosen to step up and be the father. Will it be difficult for you to take that role, knowing that Kane is the baby's father?"

"Not at all. The baby shouldn't have to suffer because of who the biological father is. Kane is the biological father, and I accept that. But I am the baby's _daddy. _There's a difference."

"Speaking of Kane, we are all well aware of the stipulations in the contract you and Kane and Lita signed for your match at Summerslam. As a result of your victory, Kane is barred from any physicality with you or Lita, and by extension, the baby. Has he been informed about the current situation with Lita and the baby?"

"He has."

"Who informed him?"

"I did."

Todd looked at Matt like he'd just sprouted horns and a tail. "Were you afraid of him at all when you talked to him?"

"No. Because I knew that he couldn't lay a hand on me. I knew it would be cold to not inform him about the condition of the baby, because regardless of the circumstances, it _is_ his child. We just sat down like the adults we are and had a civil conversation. We managed to hash things out, and we finally reached an understanding. I can say that Kane is now a non-issue. I can say that now with confidence, and I can say that with complete certainty."

"Will Lita be able to continue traveling, especially after this medical scare?"

"Because of the surgery, Lita's at a higher risk for complications, so she's going back home to be close to her OB/GYN for the duration of her pregnancy."

"That's gonna be hard for you both. Especially after everything you and Lita have gone through to finally be together."

"But that's okay. I mean, it's okay because Lita's gonna be okay. She's gonna be close to the doctor's if something happens. There's gonna be family and friends close by. We'll be able to stay in touch as much as we can. It's not the most ideal situation, but it's not about me. It's about Lita, and it's about the baby. Lita's gonna be okay. The baby's gonna be okay, and when it's all said and done, we'll all be together. It's gonna be me, and Lita, and the baby..._our baby."_

~~~TIME~~~

After escaping the interview, Matt finally escaped to the hospital, where he ran into an unexpected guest in the lobby (Lita's previous visitors had already left). "Snitsky? What the hell?"

"Hope I didn't drop in at a bad time," Gene mumbled, as he held out a gift bag. "Thought I'd swing by with a gift. Got it from Walmart. Hope you guys don't mind."

The grin on Matt's face was genuine as he took the offered gift and set it on a nearby table. "Thanks, Gene." It wasn't much, just a pastel teddy bear and a little bouquet of flowers with a small _Get Well _balloon stuck in the center, but it was the thought that mattered. "I'll make sure Lita gets this."

"Hey, uhmmm...about what happened last night in the ring...uhmm...I didn't do anything to Lita, did I?" Gene questioned, looking slightly apprehensive.

"Naahh. You did nothing wrong. It was just one of those freak things."

"Listen, I saw the match you and I had last night. It was really good. I think you and I could have a really good feud if we can convince Bischoff or McMahon to let us work together."

Matt chuckled softly "I don't remember what we did, maybe we can go through the match and put something together."

"I like the idea, Snitsky."

Matt glanced to his left and saw Bischoff standing a few feet away. "What the hell are you doing here?" he snarled, eyes narrowing.

Eric crossed his arms across his chest. "I was Gene's ride. Hey listen, why don't you wait for me out front? I have some business to discuss with Matt here."

Gene looked sheepish. "I didn't have time to get a rental. Anyway, let's get together later and hammer something out."

"We'll be in touch." Matt nodded politely at the hulking kid as he lumbered down the hall. When he was out of sight, Matt gazed coolly at the RAW GM. "I know you're not here for a social call."

"I'm not," Bischoff sighed. "But I want to offer an apology to you and Lita for the way I mishandled things between you and Kane. I let personal feelings get in the way of your safety and well-being, and I want to make up for that. And I would like to give you a few days off so you can spend some time with Lita while she recovers. Then once you get back, you and I and Snitsky can sit down and hammer out a program between the two of you."

Matt regarded Bischoff with a puzzled expression. "Much as I want to thank you for the kind words and the time off, I can't help but wonder if you have some ulterior motive. I mean, nothing that you offer comes without some kind of price tag. I mean, are you doing this out of the kindness of your heart, or are you expecting something from me in return that's less than honorable?"

"I understand why you're suspicious-"

Matt snorted. "You used Kane's harassment of Lita and me to try and create some controversial love story that you knew would never fly. I have every reason to be suspicious." He paused and fixed the RAW GM with an angry glare. "So I demand to hear the truth."

For nearly a minute Matt watched Bischoff squirm and stare down at his shoes. It was clear that GM was uncomfortable, and Matt didn't care. Bischoff deserved the discomfort, as far as Matt was concerned.

Finally, Bischoff spoke. "Vince raked me over the coals this morning before I headed over here. He demanded that I apologize to you and Lita. It was either that or lose my job. I'm doing this so I can save my job and save face."

"I knew it!" Matt spat, acidly.

Bischoff held up a hand. "But that's not the only reason. I really am sorry for my actions, or lack thereof. I should have stepped in to protect you and Lita, and I admit that I dropped the ball on purpose. That will never happen again. And I don't expect anything from you in return except for you to come back and work as hard as you always do. If you don't want to accept my apology, that's fine, but it is what it is."

"Thank you," Matt nodded. "Oh, one more thing."

"Of course."

Matt smirked, and then punched the RAW GM in the face. Bischoff's head snapped to the side, and Matt's knuckles throbbed from the blow. No doubt there'd be bruises later. Matt stepped back in surprise at his sudden outburst, and then to his shock, Bischoff rubbed his sore jaw.

"I guess I deserved that, and perhaps more."

~~~TIME~~~

The phone in Jay and Anna's hotel room rang, jarring Anna out of a dream where she and Jay were bouncing around on a big teal green velvet and ivory lace pillow and listening to a jukebox that folded up to become a big robot. Bleary-eyed, she answered. "H-hello? Hey, Trish. What's up? Okay. Yeah..."

Suddenly, Anna sat up, fully awake, jostling her husband out of his nap. "You're kidding. They wanna do this when? How the hell are they gonna be able to pull this off? Okay. Okay. Well, we can sit down and hammer out the details over dinner tonight. Applebee's or TGI Friday's is good. Okay. I'll call you when we're ready to head out. Okay. Talk to you soon. Bye."

"Who was that?" Jay mumbled, as he propped himself up on an elbow.

"That was Trish," Anna said. "I think Zeller's and the Canadian Superstore's gonna have to work more magic."

"What do you mean?"

"Matt and Lita want to get married-"

"Well, that's a given, Babe."

"Let me finish. They wanna get married before Lita leaves the hospital."

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Anna in this chapter reminds me of a joke: **

**Q: How many Sagittarians does it take to change a light bulb?**

**A: The what bulb? Hey look-a butterfly! WHEEEEEEE!**

**I have no idea how Anna suddenly got all ADD in this chapter. Her hubby (in this one!) has his hands full, doesn't he? But it's not about Anna and Jay. It's about Matt and Lita and the little Version Two she's got growing. I have to admit that Eric Bischoff DESERVED that punch to the face. He's lucky that's all Matt did to him. **

**BTW, the jukebox in question was manufactured by Seeburg in the 1970's. Speaking of what buildings look like, the jukebox exchange was inspired by a conversation my mom and I had when we were visiting my Uncle Tim in the hospital in Denver. The window had a nice view of the skyline, and my mom and I argued over what the Denver Library building looked like. I thought it looked like the top of a pencil, with the eraser and the little silver cap it's nestled in. One of the nurses on duty remarked that it didn't take much to keep us occupied!:)**

**The chapter title is from the song _Too Much Time On My Hands _by Styx.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE**


	7. Chapter 7: Time After Time

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This chapter, and probably the next, will be more table-setting than anything else. I'm not the type to go into too many details, so I'll keep them short and sweet. Lita and Matt's friends are gonna have to set a speed record to put together a nice wedding. No bedside ceremony for these two!:)**

**It's still the day Lita was moved into her private room. And already, Matt and Lita have been busy!:)**

_**Chapter Seven – Time After Time**_

"...I know it's short notice Vince, but we really, really wanna do this," Matt said, on his cell phone to Vince McMahon, outside of Lita's room (Lita was taking a nap, and Matt was on his way to meet with some of the cafeteria staff to hammer out a menu for the reception he and Lita wanted after the wedding). "Yeah. If you can send the word out to both rosters, that would be great. They can text me or leave a message if they decide to attend. They need to contact me by Wednesday evening.

"We're planning dinner after the wedding, so Lita and I need to know how many people are gonna show up, so that the catering staff here can cook enough food, so that's why we need a response so quickly. We wanna do lasagna, one with meat and one without. Yeah. Kane's not invited, for obvious reasons. And I don't want Bischoff to attend, either. He knows why, and if he has enough class, then he'll know better than to show up anyway. Great. We really appreciate this, Vince. Thanks. We'll be in touch. Bye."

A well-dressed, handsome woman with large framed glasses that magnified her light, twinkly eyes, approached Matt just as he closed his cell phone. "Mr. Hardy-"

"Hi. You can call me Matt, by the way."

The woman smiled. "Matt, congratulations to you and your fiancée. I'm a sucker for happy endings, I must admit. My niece and nephews were pulling for you and Lita."

"I appreciate that, thanks, uh...I'm sorry. I don't know your name."

"Oh, where are my manners? Emily Kimberly. I'm the hospital administrator." She paused, pushing a lock of her thick reddish brown hair behind her ear. "So, what's this I heard about the two of you wanting to get married here?"

Matt smirked. He wasn't surprised that the word about his and Lita's nuptials would spread so quickly throughout the hospital. "Yeah, we...uh, Lita had emergency surgery last night. After her little, uhm...brush with death, we decided not to wait any longer than we had to. Lita's doctor says that she should be released on Friday, barring any complications. She and I picked Thursday as our wedding day. So we figure there's a day and a half to plan everything."

"Well if you need anything, don't be afraid to contact me."

"Actually, there is something you can help us with."

"Of course. Name it."

"Well, how familiar are you with the law pertaining to marriage licenses in Canada? Lita and I will need to get a marriage license if we wanna do this properly. There's no way Dr. Jarvis will allow Lita out of the hospital until she's released, so is there I way I can get the license without us both having to be present?"

"Well, why don't you come into my office, Matt, and I'll find out for you."

In Emily's office, Matt sat in a comfy chair while the administrator accessed the Internet. A few keystrokes later, Emily smiled. "I think you're in luck," she announced, reading off the screen: _"One party to the marriage (either the bride or the groom) may submit the completed application form to the City Clerk's Office in order to obtain the Marriage Licence, provided that a primary and secondary piece of identification is submitted. Note: Identification presented must be ORIGINAL. This identification must be provided for both individuals."_

"That's great! Lita and I both have our driver's licenses and social security cards with us. Do you have directions to the City Clerk's office so I can pick up an application?"

"I can Mapquest them for you. Or..." Emily paused and leaned slightly across the desk. "My lunch hour is in about fifteen minutes. I'll swing by the office and pick the application up for you. It's on my way. No trouble at all."

"You'd do that for us?"

"Least I can do for and your fiancée."

"You think you can rush that application through after we fill it out?"

"You'll have to deliver it yourself. I guess I will need to Mapquest the directions for you after all. But I'm friends with the City Clerk, Matt. I can pull some strings, cut through some red tape, and make sure that application's processed quickly."

"How close a friend are you?"

Emily grinned slyly. "Closer than his ex-wife would like."

"Closer?" Matt cocked an eyebrow. Then it hit him, just as he noticed that the hospital administrator didn't have a ring on her left hand. "Oh...OH!" Matt squirmed in his chair, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. For an older woman, Emily was rather attractive, but the idea of her being single and romantic with someone...it just weirded him out.

Emily didn't notice Matt's discomfort. "Leave the legwork to me," she said, handing him her business card. "I'll call you when I get the application."

"I really appreciate your efforts." Matt smiled and got up from his chair, exiting as gracefully as he could without making it look like he was trying to escape. "I'll text you with my phone number. Thanks again..."

~~~TIME~~~

_Later, at dinner..._

Anna made a face as she struggled to swallow the forkful of steak salad that her husband offered her. "How can you stand to eat that stuff?"

Jay looked at his wife like she'd just sprouted an extra head. "It's blue cheese!" he explained, as everyone else at the table snickered. "It tastes good!"

"It tastes like mold. Thanks for sharing, Babe, but I'll stick with my shish kabobs."

Trish smirked at the finicky Mrs. Reso from across the table. "You do that. We have more important things to discuss right now." It was early evening, and Anna, Jay, Trish, Tyson and Adam were at a TGI Friday's discussing wedding plans. Matt and Christy were back at their respective hotel rooms (understandably) to rest up. After the last hectic twenty-four hours, they desperately needed some sleep.

She waited until there was a lull at the table and announced, "You guys will be happy to know that Matt and Lita already have their marriage licenses, and Matt's already got a guest list."

Tyson whistled softly, impressed. "Wow! They're not messing around, are they?"

"No. In fact, when I got ready to leave and get ready for dinner, Matt was on his way to the City Clerk's office to deliver the marriage license application. Which reminds me...Matt asked you guys to bring him some dinner. He's running on fumes right now, and he wants to get some rest."

Adam, who was hanging back, chimed in. "Guess a bedside wedding is out of the question, huh?"

"Well, Matt and Lita _were_ gonna do a bedside ceremony, but then the hospital staff caught wind of it, and it kinda snowballed from there." Trish explained. "Everyone was so eager, they didn't have the heart to say no."

"How many guests are we gonna have?"

"We won't know the entire count until tomorrow evening. There's the wedding party. Matt the groom, and Lita the bride. Anna's the matron of honor, that's a given. Gail and I are bridesmaids. Adam, you and Tyson are gonna be groomsmen. Then there's the pastor who's gonna perform the ceremony. The hospital admin Ms. Kimberly, who is a trip and a half, might I add. Then there's Dr. Jarvis, and Dr. Keyes, who, by the way, was generous enough to provide us with some wedding bands for the ceremony." Earlier in the day, Dr. Keyes had visited a vintage jewelry store where she shopped, gave the owner the lowdown and within minutes the owner donated rings for Matt and Lita. "I think the turnout's gonna be pretty substantial."

"Wow! This wedding's coming together faster than we thought it would."

Trish smiled. "It's kinda nice. Nobody's got enough time to become a bridezilla."

Jay added his two cents. "We're leaving out one little detail, though. Who's gonna be the best man?" Under different circumstances, Jeff would have been best man for the wedding. However, due to his commitments with TNA, he wouldn't be able to fly up to be a guest, let alone the best man.

Before Trish was able to answer that question, a cell phone rang. Everyone turned to look, with mild annoyance, at the phone's owner.

Adam blushed and got up from the table. "Heh, heh, uh...sorry. I'll answer this one."

"Why can't you put that phone on vibrate, Addy?" Anna barked.

"Anna," Jay pointed out, gently. "Adam's not a techno geek like us. It's a miracle that he knows how to _answer_ a cell phone."

Anna sighed. "Sorry Addy," she muttered, as Adam left to take the call, giving Jay a dirty look as he left. Techno geek skills came very easily to Anna and her husband, and she had little patience for people who were unwilling to keep up.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Trish took out her own cell phone and got up from the table. "I wanna show you some pictures I took at the hospital," she began, showing Anna her camera phone. "Okay, that's the hospital chapel. I figure it's big enough for everyone who's planning to attend." Everyone at the table crowded around to see the pictures on Trish's phone. "Here's a picture of Lita with her mom. There's a picture of Matt and Lita, I guess this is their engagement picture. And Matt took this picture of me and Lita. That robe she has on is gorgeous. And here's the view outside of Lita's window, and I personally think that building looks like a Transformer robot—"

"Trish, wait." Anna held up her hand. "Go back a couple of pictures." A pause, while Trish pressed the Back button on her phone to show the picture of Matt and Lita. "Okay, perfect." A little smile tweaked across the lips of Matt and Lita's "kid sister" as she studied the tiny photograph. Her eyes twinkled as she glanced up at everyone at the table. "I think I have a great idea..."

Jay chuckled as he shook his head. His wife was a force of nature when she got like this, and all he could do was sit back and watch in amusement.

Before anyone else could put in their two cents, Adam rushed back to the table. "It's Jeff on the phone!" he gushed frantically, looking like a little lost princess. "He wants to talk to all of us at once. I gotta put him on speaker phone, and I don't know how!"

Jay held his hand out. "Gimme your phone," he sighed, taking it from Adam's outstretched hands. After pressing a couple of buttons, he set the phone on the table and motioned for everyone else to sit down. "Hey, Jeff! Can you hear us?"

"_I can hear you guys perfect, thanks,"_ Jeff's voice drawled through the cell phone. _"How are you guys?"_

"We're good, thanks. So, what's up?"

"_Well, I guess my brother couldn't wait to tie the knot. Understandable, considering all he and Lita went through, though I'm kinda disappointed that I can't be part of it. Hope you don't mind me being there in spirit."_

Tyson chimed in, "We understand, Jeff. It'd be awesome to have you here, but we know you have other commitments."

"Send us you love, Jeffy." Anna grinned.

"_I'm sending it now. Anyway, I talked to Matt, and he's gonna make me best man when he and Lita renew their vows. As far as the best man for this ceremony goes, well...Jay, I want you as best man in my place."_

Jay's eyes widened in shock, and he sat up a little straighter in his seat. "Me? Are you sure about this?"

"_About as sure as I've been about anything else. You helped my brother through that ...nightmare with Kane," _Jeff explained, choosing his words carefully. _"You and my kid sister both. Since Anna's the matron of honor, Matty and I thought it would be the right thing to do."_

"Wow," Jay gasped. "I'm..._honored_. I don't know what to say."

"_I take it that you're gonna do it."_

"Absolutely, I'll do it!"

"_Jay, think of this as my way of saying _Thank You_ for what you guys did for my brother and soon-to-be sister in-law."_

Jay got a little misty eyed. Sure, they fought like cats and dogs in front of the camera, but in real-life, it didn't matter if one was a heel or face. Everyone looked out for each other. "You're welcome."

"_Listen, I gotta wrap things up. I have a travel day tomorrow. Lemme talk to Addy again. I'll talk at you all later. Love all y'all."_

"Bye!" chorused the entire table, before Jay picked up the cell phone, took it off the speakerphone setting, and handed it back to his surrogate brother.

As Adam stepped away from the table to finish his phone call, Trish looked up at Anna. "So what kind of idea do you have in mind?"

Anna set Trish's phone down and sat up in her seat. "Okay, groomsmen. If you have a pair of black khaki pants, black loafers, and a black sport coat, get them out and make sure they're clean and pressed for Thursday. If you don't have one or the other, or any of those things, get them tomorrow. Nothing fancy. Casual is fine. You'll need t-shirts, too, either seafoam green or coral pink-"

"Hey!" Tyson interrupted. "I'm not wearing pink or green!"

"You're a groomsman," Jay pointed out. "You don't have a choice."

Anna nodded in approval. "Anyway, American Apparel's got t-shirts in every color imaginable. You can pick one up there if you don't have one. Now, bridesmaids...Trish, you and Gail and I are going to Urban Outfitters tomorrow to find a suitable bridesmaid dress, and maybe sandals to match. Then, we need to get bouquets and boutonnières, an arts and crafts store should have something that'll work. Then we need to get the cake, since that's the one thing the hospital _won't_ provide..."

Jay and Tyson looked at each other with beleaguered expressions. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Emily was inspired by—don't laugh—Dustin Hoffman's character from Tootsie (Dorothy Michaels, aka Emily Kimberly), which is a comedy CLASSIC! If you haven't seen it, buy it or rent it, it's worth the money either way! The exchange about "how close a friend are you?" was loosely based on a scene from the 1995 movie Outbreak, also starring Dustin Hoffman. My muses take me in the weirdest directions sometimes, but the end result is always worth the ride.**

**I agree with Trish's statement. The less time you have to plan a wedding, the less of a chance you'll become a bridezilla.**

**The title of this chapter is _Time After Time _by Cyndi Lauper.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE**


	8. Chapter 8: Time, Love and Tenderness

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Another chapter of table-setting. This one is considerably shorter than the other chapters in this story. I'm not the type to go into too much detail on things. BTW, if you want to check out the pictures of things that I describe in this story, I'll be happy to email you a link to my Photobucket file. Just PM me:)**

_**Chapter Eight - Time, Love and Tenderness**_

"….Hmmmm….you know what? I'm not sure about holding the wedding here." Trish said, shaking her head. She, Anna, Lita (who was in a wheelchair and was being pushed by Christy, her mom) and Emily were in the hospital chapel to scope it out before the big day. At first, Lita, Matt and their friends wanted to hold the wedding here, but after visiting it, there were more than a few second thoughts floating around.

"It's a beautiful venue, don't get us wrong," Lita chimed in, admiring the intricate woodwork in front of the chapel, the hand painted statues in each corner, and the painted fresco on the ceiling and walls. "We were hoping to find something a little more…I don't know, uhmm…"

"Intimate?" Christy asked.

"Yeah. That's the word for it."

"That," Anna nodded, "And not everyone on the WWE roster's really religious. I know that we wouldn't mind, but some of the guests could feel a little uncomfortable. Hope you don't take offense."

Emily smiled in understanding. "None taken. Of course, we've got plenty of places to hold the ceremony. We've got conference rooms, an atrium, a prayer room—"

"Prayer room?" Lita cocked an eyebrow.

"It's non denominational, there's plenty of room, it's comfortable, and there's nothing in there that would make your guests feel uptight. I'd be happy to take all of you over there so you can check it out."

"Okay. Let me talk to my friends first." After a moment of discussion with Trish, Anna, and her mother, Lita glanced up at Emily and smiled.

"Lead the way…"

~~~TIME~~~

"So how are you holding up, Matt?" Jay asked, as he perused the rack of T-shirts at the American Apparel store. Tyson was at the other end of the store looking for a pair of black khakis, and Jay was looking for a seafoam green shirt. Judging from the way Tyson was shaking his head, it looked like he would have to get his pants elsewhere. Close by, Adam, who had found a black linen sport coat, was now perusing the displays of nail polish and lip balm under the pretense of picking out something for Jeff.

Jay couldn't resist as he glanced up at Adam. "Lip balm and nail polish, Addy? Seriously?"

Adam glared divalike at his surrogate half-brother. "Well, _I'm_ not gonna wear the nail polish. Jeff is!"

"Okay. Fair enough. But black cherry tinted lip balm?"

"Okay, that _is_ for me. It's gonna be Jeff's lucky lip balm."

"How can that be Jeff's lucky lip balm if you're buying it for yourself?"

"Because when I wear it, he'll get lucky," Adam explained, completely serious.

Jay facepalmed, and glanced over at Tyson, who was snickering. "Don't start, Tyson!"

Tyson smirked. "You kinda walked into that one, Jay," he managed before he busted up laughing.

Jay shook his head before he turned his attention back to the groom. "You okay?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders, a thousand-yard stare in his eyes. "I don't know," he sighed, his voice tired. "The past three days have been a blur. I mean, the last thing I expected to be doing was getting ready for a hospital wedding."

Jay tilted his head quizzically. "What do you mean? I thought this was what you and Lita wanted. Getting married, having a baby. You freakin' went into seclusion for a week and beat up Kane for Lita and the baby. The end result's supposed to be you and Lita living happily. Not _Happily Ever After,_ but realistically happy with a family."

Matt leaned up against a wall display. "I'm not sure if we're doing the right thing," he admitted.

"What?!" Jay nearly dropped the shirt that he was holding on the floor. "Oh, no, dude! Don't tell me you wanna chicken out!"

"Oh God! No, Jay!" Matt tried to explain. "I _do _wanna get married, so does Lita! I told Lita that I didn't care how we did it, or where we did it. I mean, I would have done it in the ring, I would have gone to Vegas and eloped if that's what she wanted. There's nothing I want more than to be with her."

"So what's the holdup?"

Matt sighed and stared down at his shoes for a moment as he tried to collect his thoughts. Finally, he looked at Jay and spoke carefully. "Do you know what it feels like when the woman you love starts talking about marriage and families and stuff?"

Jay busted up laughing."You have no idea, Matty! I can't remember a time when Anna _didn't_ talk about us getting married!" He finally managed to calm his laughter, though he was still chuckling to himself. "I'm sorry, man, you just brought back a lot of memories."

Matt shrugged. "I figured you'd be a good person to talk to. Once Lita and I say _I do,_ it's…I don't know if this is a good choice of words but…_over?_ Like a story has ended and then you think, _now what?"_ Matt shook his head. "I'm sorry, that..that _was _a bad choice of words."

"Maybe the word you're looking for is permanent."

"Permanent?"

"Yeah. You're committing to Lita, and once you say _I do,_ the relationship becomes permanent. You're committing to Lita for the rest of your life." Jay paused. "Commitment is scary stuff. The idea of committing to Anna for the rest of my life scared me. Don't get me wrong, Anna and I, we love each other to distraction, but sometimes I freak when I realize that what we have together is permanent."

"So you would have been okay playing house with her?"

"Yeah," Jay said, earnestly. "I would have. But I knew that Anna wanted a wedding with the bridesmaids and cake and all that lovely stuff, so why would I wanna deny her that? Besides, I wanted to make everything legal. And looking back, I think getting married was the right decision. Because what she and I have together was worth making our relationship permanent."

Matt let his best man's words sink in. "I mean it's so easy these days just moving in and playing house, I guess, because it doesn't feel permanent and one or the other or both can walk away from it if things don't work out."

"And that's the problem with relationships these days," Jay pressed his lips into a tight line. They've become...I don't know, disposable? Like if you don't like it, you can trade in for a newer and better model."

"Or, maybe a car that you decide to lease. After X amount of years, you can keep it or return it."

"I never heard that before, but yeah. It is like a car lease. Speaking of cars, my dad said something really profound to me when I decided to propose to Anna. He said, and I quote, _A__ good relationship is like a classic car. It's beautiful and shiny and gorgeous, and you can't wait to have it. But after you get it, it takes a lot of work to maintain it. You have to work on it as much as you can to make sure it runs and looks as good as the first time you saw it._

"That's what marriage is like. When Anna and I got married, everything was perfect and beautiful and gorgeous. But, from the word _go,_ we've had to do whatever we needed to make sure our marriage continues to work. I can look at my parents as an example. My mom and dad are like a classic car; still going strong after three decades and change. Granted, there've been times when the going got really difficult, but they kept working on it and fixing it. And because they love each other, they're willing to work on their marriage whenever it needs it. It takes a lot of hard work, but if you love each other, you'll be more than willing to put forth the effort."

Matt nodded. "I don't think I've ever heard it put that way, but yeah. It makes sense. When did you suddenly become an armchair philosopher?"

Jay smirked. "I have no idea. So, the big question is…are you and Lita willing to work on and take care of that classic car know as marriage?"

Matt couldn't stop the grin that tugged across his lips. "You know what? I think we are."

"Then you get out there and drive it off the lot!" Jay smiled, clapping a hand on the groom's shoulder. "In the meantime, you can help me find a t-shirt!"

~~~TIME~~~

It had been a productive day for everyone involved in Matt and Lita's wedding.

After checking out the prayer room that Emily suggested, Anna, Christy and Trish decided to move the flowers from Lita's room into that room as decoration, and purchased balloon bouquets to place in strategic locations to accompany the floral arrangements. With that accomplished, they then rushed to a nearby Michael's crafts to pick up bouquets and boutonnières of silk roses. Thanks to one of the on-duty nurses, they found a string version of _Here Comes The Bride_, which would be played during Lita's trip down the aisle.

With those things accomplished, Trish and Gail found their bridesmaid's outfits; simple lace dresses from Urban Outfitters that they dressed up with silk scarves of pink and seafoam green to coordinate with Lita's robe. They also found some simple heels and jewelry that would coordinate with their dresses.

Later in the afternoon, after a mad rush to Zeller's to pick out a matron of honor dress, Anna and Christy checked out a bakery that specialized in wedding cakes, willing to pay as much as it took for a rush job. Incredibly, they found a lovely cake (complete with enough cupcakes for the guests) that was rejected by a bridezilla (the bridezilla would wind up without a cake for her big day, and deservedly so) right before they arrived in the shop. After hearing from Anna and Christy about Lita and Matt's planned nuptials, the baker was gracious enough to give the cake to them free of charge, going so far as making arrangements to store it overnight and deliver it in time for the ceremony.

By the time Wednesday evening rolled around, forty guests (not including the wedding party) had RSVP'd. The reception menu had already been put together by the cafeteria staff, and all they had to do was cook it. The prayer room was decorated and ready for the big event, and Matt, Lita, and the rest of the wedding party went through a quick rehearsal to make sure there would be no snags before they all turned in for the night.

Matt and Lita's wedding was less than twenty-four hours away.

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Yeah, I know this chapter was rather short, but like I said, I'm not the type to put in too much detail. Shopping trips can sometimes get tedious, and they're hard to write. I wanna get to the wedding!**

**Speaking of which…**

**AMONG FAMILY AND FRIENDS**

**Two lives, two hearts**

**joined together in friendship**

**united forever in love.**

**It is with joy that we,**

**Matt Hardy  
and  
Lita**

**invite you to share**

**in a celebration of love**

**as we exchange our marriage vows**

**on Thursday, the nineteenth of August**

**two thousand four**

**at three o'clock in the afternoon**

**St. Joseph's Hospital, **

**non denominational prayer room**

**268 Grosvenor Street**

**London, Ontario Canada**

**There! You are now officially invited!:) And that IS a real hospital! **

**BTW, the chapter title is from _Time, Love and Tenderness_, by Michael Bolton. Thought it was appropriate.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE**


	9. Chapter 9: This Time, I'm In It For Love

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: It's finally the Big Day for Matt and Lita. I'm gonna skip thru much of the details and get right to the ceremony. **

_**Chapter Nine – This Time, I'm In It For Love**_

_30 Minutes Before the Wedding..._

"Is my nose shiny?" Anna frowned at her reflection in her powder compact mirror.

Lita and her mom were in the bathroom getting dressed, and the bridesmaids and matron of honor were giving themselves a once-over to make sure everything was _just-so. _Earlier in the day, a hospital volunteer did Lita's hair and makeup, and the others did their own. A wheelchair sat in the room, ready for Lita to sit in for her trip to the prayer room.

"You look perfect," Gail tried to reassure the matron of honor.

"My lips aren't perfect! Where's my lipstick?"

"You can use mine," Trish offered, sliding a tube out of her purse.

"Thanks, but it's not peppermint flavored. I can't wear lip color that doesn't have peppermint flavor. I'm just weird like that."

Trish shrugged. "Just put peppermint Chapstick under it. No one will know the difference."

"But _I'll_ know!" Anna whined, as Gail tried to keep a straight face.

Trish shook her head. "Arrgh! You're impossible!"

The bathroom door opened, and Christy stepped out. She was wearing an aqua and white dress that she'd packed during her mad rush to the hospital two days previous. Surprisingly, it worked well as a mother of the bride outfit.

The girls waited in breathless anticipation.

"Is she ready?" Trish asked.

Christy beamed and stepped back so that the girls could see Lita as she stepped out. "Well...my baby girl's finally ready to get married."

"I certainly am." Lita turned this way and that so her friends could see. "How do I look?"

The girls _Oooohh-ed _and _Ahhhh-ed. _

"Oh, wow! You look gorgeous!"

"It's perfect!"

"That robe is beautiful on you!"

"Thanks." A blush dusted Lita's cheeks. "Uhmmm...I just wanna say thanks to all of you for pulling this all together for me and Matt. You guys didn't have to go through all this trouble-"

Trish held up a finger to silence the bride-to-be. "This was no trouble for us at all, Lita. This is what friends do. I know you'd do the same for any of us." She drew closer and gestured for the other girls to join her. "Okay, everyone...group hug!" she announced, as she and the girls gathered around the bride-to-be.

When the girls broke their hug, Christy straightened up and announced, "I'm gonna head to my seat. I'll see you all out there," before making a graceful exit.

Anna peered into the bathroom and grinned. "There's my lipstick!" As she marched in to retrieve it, she saw her reflection and gasped. "Ack! My nose!"

Lita chuckled as Trish helped her into the wheelchair. "If you had your druthers, Anna, you'd still be working on your makeup as I walk down the aisle." She knew she would get a dirty look from her matron of honor, but she couldn't resist razzing her.

~~~TIME~~~

In a a conference room close to the prayer room, the groomsmen were razzing Tyson almost as much as the bridesmaids razzed the matron of honor.

"Why the hell am I wearing a monkey suit?" Tyson bitched, as he looked at himself in the mirror. "Thank God we don't have to wear ties."

Matt landed a playful punch on Tyson's arm "That's not a monkey suit! Monkey suits are tuxedos with vests and ties and all that fancy stuff. You can take that jacket off, and it'll be something you could wear to Applebees. Now, hold still, your boutonnière's all crooked."

"Lucky for you, Tyson," Jay chimed in, as he straightened the silk flower pinned to his own jacket, "You can take that jacket off after the ceremony. I know I'll take mine off. Hey, move over, I have to check if my shirt's straight."

"Not even a please?"

"No."

Tyson snorted and moved aside so that Jay could study his appearance. After arguing with himself over which color to get (dusky pink or seafoam green), Jay had thrown his hands up (not literally) and bought both. After seeing his wife's matron of honor dress, he was glad he'd picked the dusky pink (it would match better).

"I'm channeling Adam," he sighed. "Hey, guys, speaking of which..."

Matt glanced out the door. "Emily's getting Adam a ponytail elastic. He was panicking because there was a piece of hair that wouldn't stay put, and he just gave up and decided to tie everything back."

"That's Adam for you," Jay snickered. Sure Adam was vicious, tough and opportunistic in the ring, but get him out of the squared circle (or arena), and he was all diva.

Matt glanced at his watch. "It's about time for me to head out there. Wish me luck, Guys."

Matt's friends didn't engage in group hugs, but they each patted him on the back in affection.

"Matty," Jay smiled. "Take care of that classic car."

"Thanks. I will." Matt grinned and stepped out into the hallway.

"Classic car?" Tyson wondered, after Matt had left. "What was that about?"

"Long story," Jay shrugged. "I'll explain it later."

~~~TIME~~~

The venue was still abuzz with activity. Hospital volunteers were setting up a CD player to play the wedding music. Additional staff was setting up a video recorder to record the wedding, so that DVD copies could be made to give to the guests. A few more were performing microphone checks.

Meanwhile, the bakery delivered the cake and set it in the cafeteria (part of it had been cordoned off for the reception). A nice spread of food (lasagna, salad, bread, appetizers, etc) and soft drinks was laid out for the guests.

The guests—forty in all—were seated and engaged in conversation, all of them dressed for comfort, but nothing too shabby. Faces and heels sat together—during special occasions like this, on-screen rivalries were set aside.

Christy, Nidia and Victoria were engaged in some cordial chat when Gene Snitsky interrupted. The women turned to face him, and they all looked more than a little freaked out by his appearance. "Uh, never mind."

Christy recovered first. "It's okay. What I help you with?"

"Uhmmm...can I get a ride back to the hotel with any of you?"

"What?" Victoria looked like Gene had just sprouted horns.

"Well, I need a ride back to my hotel after the reception."

"How'd you get here?"

"Bischoff dropped me off. He wasn't invited."

Just then, the music started up, and Gene was forced to return to his seat. He would have to bum a ride off of someone else.

Matt and the pastor took their places at the front of the room. Matt looked sharp in his black khakis, seafoam green shirt, black sport coat, and black loafers. The officiant, a handsome middle aged pastor with silver hair and two piece suit with a green and pink tie, took his position at the altar in the front of the room.

Adam (with his hair tied neatly back) and Gail were first down the aisle, followed by Trish and Tyson. The bridesmaids looked lovely in their short dresses of ivory lace and coordinating sandals. Tie-dyed silk scarves of coral pink and seafoam green were wrapped around their waists and tied in the back in a big fluffy bow. Each of them carried small bouquets of cream and pink silk roses. The grooms were sharply dressed in their groomsmen outfits that coordinated nicely with the bridesmaids—right down to the boutonnières.

Then, the matron of honor and best man made their trip. Anna's dress was lace, dusky rose, knee length, and bought on sale at Zeller's. Her hair was pulled into a teased explosion of curls that flowed halfway down her back. Jay's shirt matched his wife's dress color almost perfectly, and the smile on his face was just as bright as the one on his wife's.

Finally, the familiar strains of the Bridal Chorus sounded, and the guests stood up to watch the bride make her entrance.

An orderly wheeled Lita halfway down the aisle in a wheelchair. He then stopped and helped Lita out of the chair, allowing her to walk the rest of the way to the altar. She looked stunning. She had an ivory silk nightgown on underneath her velvet dressing gown for modesty's sake, and she had a pair of satin slippers on her feet. A large bouquet of silk roses (cream and pink, like the bridesmaids) was nestled in her arms. Her fiery red hair had been set and styled by the hospital volunteer, and it spilled down her back in rich curls that were caught up by a large crystal and bronze barrette. Her makeup was flawless, almost like as if a camera was going to shoot her close up for a magazine cover.

She and Matt locked eyes. Matt's eyes were dark and intense, and his emotions gave his face a stoic quality. As she gazed into Matt's face, Lita let a slow smile spread across her lips. And then, Matt broke into the most beautiful and joyful smile Lita had ever seen. A lump rose in Lita's throat, and it was all she could do to keep from rushing down the aisle and into Matt's arms.

Fortunately, the rest of the way was rather short, and Lita made it to the altar just as the music ended. Matt held out his hand, and Lita took it eagerly. It was a simple gesture, but one that made both Matt and Lita feel like they were exactly where they belonged.

"Thank you," the pastor smiled out at the guests. "Please be seated."

A pause, as the guests settled themselves and the pastor opened up a prayer book. "We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments. To give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite Matt and Lita in marriage. Today, our hearts are filled with great happiness as Matt and Lita come before you, pledging their hearts and lives to one another. Grant that they may ever be true and loving, living together in such a way as to never bring shame or heartbreak into their union. Temper their hearts with kindness and understanding. Rid them of all pretense and jealousy. Help them to remember to be each other's sweetheart, helpmate, best friend and guide so that they together may meet the cares and problems of life more bravely. May the home they are creating today truly be a place of love and harmony, where your spirit is always present. Bless this marriage we pray, and walk beside Matt and Lita throughout all of their life together.

"Anyone who has known Matt and Lita for any length of time can easily see the depth of their devotion and love for each other. They are also aware of the struggles they've had to endure. The past few months were especially difficult, as their relationship was severely tested. But as 1 Corinthians 13:7 states, love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Matt and Lita endured unimaginable heartache, but their love for each other endured, and is now stronger than ever."

At this point, the pastor grinned, and his eyes twinkled. "I understand that a friend who could not join us today has put together a special video to celebrate Matt and Lita and the unique and enduring love they share."

One of the hospital volunteers queued up a DVD. It was a video showing clips of Matt and Lita in various moments, some candid, some out of the ring, and some within the ring, all set to "In My Life" from The Beatles. There were quite a few appreciative murmurings in the audience as they watched the video tribute. Whoever put this video together intended for this to be a gift to the happy couple.

As the video played, Anna leaned over to the groomsmen. "That was awesome!" she said, under her breath. "How'd you guys manage to get a video put together that quick?"

"Jericho couldn't be here," Jay answered. "But he put that together this morning and fired off a copy to me," Jay explained. "He was feeling kinda creative and he wanted to do something nice."

"Me likey. Me likey very much."

After the video ended, the pastor continued. "Matt and Lita, just as two very different threads woven in opposite directions can form a beautiful tapestry, so can your two lives together merge to form a very beautiful marriage. To make your marriage work will take love. But it will also take trust, to know in your hearts you want the best for each other. It will take dedication - to stay open to one another, to learn and to grow together even when this is not always easy to do. It will take faith, to always be willing to go forward to tomorrow, never really knowing what tomorrow will bring. And it will take commitment, to hold true to the journey you now pledge to share together. Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage, they must speak now or forever hold their peace."

A full half-minute of silence passed, and nobody thought it necessary to interrupt the ceremony.

"I guess it's game on," Adam said, under his breath.

"Matt and Lita, I charge you both as you stand before God to remember that love and loyalty will serve as the foundation for a happy and enduring home. Honoring the vows you're about to make will give you a life of peace and joy. Do you come here freely and without reservation to enter into this marriage as partners, living together as one, enjoying all that life has to offer, promising to love, respect, and honor each other forever?"

Matt and Lita smiled at each other and then turned to the pastor. "We do," they both answered.

Jay stepped up to the microphone and removed a folded up sheet of paper from his pocket. "Two lives, two people," he read. "So very different, yet so similar. Together we stand as one, sharing our future as it comes. The past is that, past. Buds are yet to blossom; with care and trust, the best is yet to be revealed. Honesty and kindness, are the fruits of love. Lord bless this day and always to enrich us so our love will never end."

The best man stepped back, allowing the pastor to continue the ceremony. "Matt, do you take Lita to be your wedded wife? To be your friend and companion? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, remain faithful in your love for her, as long as you both shall live?"

Matt smiled at his wife-to-be. "I do."

The pastor turned to the bride. "Lita, do you take Matt to be your wedded husband? To be your friend and companion? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, remain faithful in your love for him, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." Lita couldn't stop the grin that tugged across her face.

"I understand that the two of you have written your own vows as well. So, at this time, Lita would like to share her personal vow with Matt.

Lita handed off her bouquet to Anna and removed a slip of paper from the pocket of her dressing gown. "Matt, I have loved you since the moment I met you, and I have wanted to marry you for so long, but it wasn't until this moment, standing right here and looking at you that I know just how right it is, that any doubt that I had, it was silly, and any - any fears or mistakes that I made, they were foolish, because standing here with you, that's where I belong.

"We have already been through a lot together, and I believe that God has been preparing us for this moment and for our future together. I promise to keep the good memories alive, and to let the bad ones die. I promise not to let the sun go down on our anger, and to treat each morning as a new day and a new reason to love you. I will not forsake you or these vows that we have made, but rather strive to show you my love for the rest of our lives.

"You make me feel safe and loved, like anything's possible, and with you, it is. I promise to always put my hand in yours so that we can face what's ahead together. You're my strength, no matter how dark some days may be. I know that I can survive anything wrapped in your arms, your love, our family. I promise to be your partner, your home, and your wife for the rest of our lives."

The pastor nodded. "Thank you, Lita. At this time, Matt would like to share his personal vow to Lita."

Matt removed a slip of paper from his pants pocket. He was about to read off of it, but thought better of it. Putting the paper back, he gently set his hands on Lita's shoulders. "Lita, I remember the day when I first laid eyes on you. I thought you were so vibrant, so fierce, and so beautiful. And I knew there was something truly special between us. I know that we've had our good days and our bad days. And we both know the struggles we've had to go through to get here. The past few months have been especially trying. I know that either one of us could have given up, and the other would understand. But neither of us gave up. We both fought for what we both wanted, and the fact that we're standing here now...it just speaks so much about how connected we really are to each other.

"I found a woman of strength, passion, and beauty. I look into your eyes, Lita, and I see my soul mate. I see tomorrow and the day after that and all the days to come. In fact, when I look into your eyes, I see a lifetime of tomorrows. I see passion and joy for each other, our life together, our family, our future, wherever we are, and whatever it brings.

"I promise to try and make you laugh, because you have the most beautiful laugh and the brightest smile I have ever known, but, most importantly, I promise to love you and devote myself to you and our family for the rest of my life."

"Thank you, Matt." The pastor paused. "I've also been informed that the wedding party has a special passage they'd like to read out loud. It's from Wilferd Arlan Peterson, and it's called, _The Art of a Good Marriage."_

The wedding party moved forward and each took a sheet of paper from the altar. On it was written the timeless essay, each page marked with the passages each one would read. The bridesmaids, groomsmen, matron of honor and best man formed a circle around Matt and Lita and began to read:

Anna: Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.

Jay: A good marriage must be created.

Trish: In the art of marriage the little things are the big things...

Tyson: It is never being too old to hold hands.

Gail: It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.

Adam: It is never going to sleep angry.

Anna: It is never taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years.

Jay: It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.

Trish: It is standing together facing the world.

Tyson: It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.

Gail: It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

Adam: It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.

Anna: It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.

Jay: It is not looking for perfection in each other.

Trish: It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.

Tyson: It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.

Gail: It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

Adam: It is finding room for the things of the spirit.

Anna: It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

Jay: It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.

Trish: It is not only marrying the right partner,

Tyson: It is being the right partner.

All: It is discovering what marriage can be, at its best.

The wedding party returned to their places, and the Pastor straightened his collar. "May I have the rings, please?" Jay removed the rings out of the pocket of his jacket and handed them to the pastor.

"The rings are symbols of the spiritual bond between two people," explained the pastor, as he gave Matt and Lita the rings. "They have no beginning and no end. They will endure forever. So may it be with the love between the two of you. May these rings mark the beginning of a long journey together, filled with wonder, surprises, laughter, tears, celebration, and joy.

"Matt, place the ring on Lita's finger and repeat after me. Lita, I give you this ring, and with it, all that I have, and all that I am."

Matt's smile was warm and genuine. "Lita, I give you this ring, and with it, all that I have, and all that I am."

The pastor turned to the bride. "Lita, place the ring on Matt's finger and repeat after me. Matt, I give you this ring, and with it, all that I have, and all that I am."

Lita could barely contain herself. "Matt, I give you this ring," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "And with it, all that I have, and all that I am."

"Matt and Lita," the pastor announced, once the exchange of rings was completed, "You have committed yourselves to each other through sacred vows, the exchange of rings, and you've honored each other with the gift of eternal love. Your lives are now one. Through this integrity and truth and the beloved company of friends and family, it is my honor to pronounce you husband and wife."

He paused. "Legend holds that the nuptial kiss unleashes great power in heaven and on earth. We shall now rock the universe." At the mention of "rock the universe," the guests busted up laughing.

Beaming, the pastor turned to Matt and said, "You may now kiss the bride."

Matt didn't have to be told twice. He wrapped his arms around his new wife and kissed her passionately. The guests burst into raucous applause, but neither Matt nor Lita noticed.

When they finished the pastor announced,"Mark 10:9 states, _What God has joined together, let no one separate._ So, may I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Matt Hardy!"

The wedding guests stood up and applauded joyously as Matt and Lita smiled and headed down the aisle. The ceremony was over. One chapter of Matt and Lita's life was over...but another chapter was about to begin.

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I feel like I ran out of steam at the end of this chapter. Next is the reception, and that's gonna be fairly short. Then I think I'll skip ahead a few weeks. Hope you don't mind:)**

**The title for this chapter is _This Time, I'm In It For Love, _by Player.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE **


	10. Time (Clock Of The Heart)

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This may be a short but sweet chapter, but I think I will wind this story up before I run out of ideas. On a personal note, I may be taking some time off the boards to deal with some legal issues. The details are in my profile, but suffice it to say, that I will need to focus on that more than my stories.**

**We're gonna jump ahead just a bit to the reception. Assume that Matt, Lita, Christy and the rest of the wedding party are all at the same table. It may sound a bit sappy, but I just felt sentimental:)**

_**Chapter Ten—Time (Clock Of The Heart)**_

"Matt?"

The happy groom glanced up to see Emily smiling at him and Lita. She looked rather lovely in a lilac blouse and gray skirt, and her hair was neatly styled with the sides up. "I just wanted to thank you for allowing my staff and me to be a part of you and Lita's big day."

"Thanks, Emily. We really appreciated you pulling the strings like you did," Matt answered cordially, as the others at the table smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Least I could do," the hospital admin shrugged. She paused and glanced down at the radiant bride. "Lita, you looked beautiful out there."

"Thank you," Lita smiled, before she gestured towards her matron of honor. Anna pulled out a small envelope from her purse and passed it to Lita, who handed it to Emily. "Here's a little thank you present."

"A gift card to Zellers." Emily looked very pleased as she opened the envelope. "Thank you. I saw the cutest pair of shoes there the other day, so I know where this will go. Congratulations again." With that, she turned and headed back to her table.

So far, the reception was a happy and relaxed affair. The guests enjoyed the catered meal (especially the wedding cupcakes), and the atmosphere was one of happy, yet quiet celebration (after all, it WAS still a hospital). It was also a slightly truncated affair, since most of the talent had to turn in early before they hit the road for their next house show appearances, and the kitchen staff would be available for only a couple of hours.

Which meant that the groom, best man and matron of honor would have to give their speeches sooner than later.

"Jay, I hope I don't make an ass of myself," Anna sighed to her husband. Her speech, as well as everyone else's, was short, sweet, and courtesy of the Internet. "I mean, I just printed it out an hour and a half ago."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Jay reassured his wife. "You're just like me. Get me in front of a camera or a microphone, and it's like someone flips a switch." That was true. Anna and her husband were rather quiet and soft-spoken in private, but in public, they could more than hold their own with friends and acquaintances.

"Just imagine everyone in their underwear," Matt chimed in. He caught the stunned look on Anna's face and said, "Uh...are you okay?"

"I just pictured Snitsky in his underwear," gasped the matron of honor, as the rest of the table burst into laughter. "It's not funny! Jay and I are giving him a ride back to his hotel later."

"Yikes! Snitsky in his underwear!" Tyson nearly choked on his cup of Pepsi, and Gail had to whack him on the back.

"Nothing positive about that visual," Adam snickered, before taking a bite out of his wedding cupcake. "This was a smart idea, cupcakes instead of cake slices. Jeff and I might do this for our own wedding."

"Thank the bridezilla who didn't want the cake," Christy smiled. "It would have been a shame to see it go to waste."

"Okay," Trish fumbled through her purse for a piece of paper and a pen. "Note to self; wedding cupcakes. That IS a good idea. No wasted cake, and everyone gets a nice size portion"

"Totally agree." Anna stood up and picked up a wireless microphone from the table. "Okay, it's showtime, folks," she sighed, before turning it on. She paused, and then spoke. "Okay, can everyone hear me?"

After some answers in the affirmative, Anna let her gaze sweep over the small crowd of wedding guests. Then, she grinned slightly. It felt like someone had flipped a switch, and the shyness suddenly evaporated. "Hi, everyone. In case you don't know who I am, my name is Anna Reso, and I'm Lita's matron of honor. I'm here because it's my surrogate big sister's wedding day. I feel a little outclassed, because Lita, you make a beautiful bride. But, it's not my day. It's your day, and it's Matt's day.

"Lita has been a great friend in so many ways. We've had a lot of fun together, on the road and off, and she's always been there for me when things were tough. Whether it was three in the morning or three in the afternoon she remained loyal to me. She was there like no one else has been there for me, besides my own mom.

"Fun times, yes there were many. Who can forget _midnight apple bobbing?" _That was met with some knowing chuckles. Anna took that as a good sign and continued. "And the Christmas party three years ago, when you and Matt introduced me to a smirky young man who told me how much a polar bear weighed...enough to break the ice." The matron of honor gazed down sweetly at Jay, who returned the smile and surreptitiously squeezed her hand. "That smirky young man is now my husband.

"We've come to know one another so well, that we have an understanding that goes beyond words. When Matt proposed in the middle of the ring on Sunday night, Lita didn't really have to say much to make it clear to everyone that Matt was _The One._ All the signs were there... the special looks ... the way her face would light up when he was around. It all felt right as it happened, it all feels right today, and I know that the life they have ahead of them will feel just as right as it does today.

"Matt, Lita, I can see you both making a success of everything you do together, especially in your marriage. I know you both have the foundation for a wonderful marriage: not just lovers, but lifelong friends as well." At that point, Anna gazed down at her surrogate big brother. She wasn't crying but her voice was thick with emotion. "Matt, I want to say thank you. You make things entertaining and exciting for the rest of us. Every one of us is proud to be your friend, and we'd do anything for you. You're a giving person, you're always there if we need you, and we just love you to pieces." A pause. "Even though you can sometimes drive us crazy."

After some more hearty laughter, Anna continued. "So I'm just as glad as I can be that you and Lita are married, and I hope that your road goes on forever and your party never ends. Good luck to you, Lita, and to you, Matt. Thank you for bringing color into our lives, and I hope there's plenty in yours for many, many years." She reached down and picked up her cup of sparkling cider from the table. Lifting it up, she announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to offer a toast: To Lita and Matt, and a wonderful life together."

After the toast finished, Anna concluded with, "Thank you. And as much as I appreciate you all being here, there's someone else who is just as appreciative, if not more so. Please welcome the groom. My surrogate brother, Matt."

There was a nice round of applause as Anna took her seat again. "Did I do okay, guys?"

"You did great!" Jay smiled before he pecked his wife on the cheek. "I'm proud of you."

"That was lovely, thank you." Lita nodded, before reaching under the table to sneakily pick up the gift bag she'd tucked into her robe before heading over to the reception. In it, she'd packed a few special gifts for the wedding party; handmade crystal bracelets in colors to match the wedding for Anna, Christy, and the bridesmaids, and stainless steel cufflinks for Adam and Jay, and a pewter dragon pendant for Tyson (she knew Tyson would never in a million years be seen in a sport coat, so the cufflinks for him would be out of the question). She had Emily to thank for rushing downstairs to the gift shop to pick them up before the ceremony.

Matt waited for the applause to die down before he stood up and took the mic. "On behalf of my wife and I, we'd like to thank you all for coming here today and sharing our special day with us. Today's one of those occasions where it's good to be surrounded by people who are important to you. We hope you're enjoying it every bit as much as we are, and we'd like to thank you for your kind wishes, cards, presents and support.

"We decided to get married as a spur of the moment thing, and we know it was short notice, but Lita and I are really impressed by how many people rallied round to help us pull this off today. If you're not mentioned by name and that's most of you, please be assured that Lita and I are very grateful.

"I'm thrilled beyond measure to be able to stand here today with Lita. I know this sounds a bit cliché, but I never knew what was missing in my life before I met her. Lita has been a source of friendship, support and love. We've been through so much, especially the past few months, and to be able to celebrate today..." Matt gazed down and took Lita's hand in his. "...It means everything to both my wife and me.

"Christy, thank you not only for your kindness this afternoon, but for also giving me your beautiful daughter. I promise I'll take good care of her and of course do everything she tells me to! So Christy, we have a present here for you."

Lita reached into the gift bag and gave Christy a pastel colored box with a silver bow on top. The mother of the bride was pleasantly surprised as she opened up her gift. Happily, she mouthed, _It's beautiful! Thank you!_

Matt continued. "I also want to say thank you to the matron of honor, Anna, who put up with Lita and me for all these years. You have been there for us both. While Lita was recovering from her neck surgery, Anna was more than willing to give of herself without being asked. And she continues to give of herself to this day." Lita passed Anna another pastel gift box. "Lita and I feel blessed to have you as a friend and surrogate sister, so we have a special present for you."

"You got this for me?" Anna was genuinely surprised as she opened up her gift. A tiny squeak escaped her lips. "I love it! This is so cool!"

Jay looked over his wife's shoulder. "Put it on, Babe. Lemme see how it looks on you."

Matt smirked at his best man. "I can imagine that Jay, my best man is getting impatient to make his speech soon. Now many people don't know that Jay suffers from a rare medical condition which causes him to invent outrageous stories. He really does believe these stories to be true, so I'll thank you all in advance for for humoring him during his speech."

That earned a round of hearty laughter, and a playful punch on Matt's arm by his best man. "We have a gift for you, Jay, and for our groomsmen, Adam and Tyson," Matt smiled, as Lita passed the black gift boxes out. "Thanks for all of you being here." Jay nodded and smiled, as did Tyson and Adam; they all liked their gifts.

"And finally, I want to thank the bridesmaids. Gail, Trish..."Matt continued, as Lita passed out the remaining gifts. "...Thanks for calming Lita's nerves and helping in her preparation today. I'd also like thank you for getting her to the venue in one piece and on time, you've done a fantastic job. We have a small gift for each of you as well, as a token of our appreciation."

"Well, that's it from me for now, but, before I pass you over to my best man, Ladies and Gentlemen, please stand and lift your glasses and join me in a toast to bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and everyone else at our table. Thank you for everything..."

~~~TIME~~~

Jay gave his wife's hand a gentle squeeze before he stood up and took the mic from Matt's outstretched hand. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to start by saying that my wife Anna has proofread this speech, so if you

consider any of the material inappropriate, it's her fault." The guests chuckled as Anna gave her husband a mock glare.

After a beat, Jay began his speech. "My name is Jay, and as is traditional on these occasions, I'm here to welcome you all to this very special day, point out the fire exits and for those of you who don't already know Matt, give you a little bit of a background on why Lita would put up with him the way she does.

"Firstly, on behalf of the Bridesmaids, I'd like to thank Matt for his kind words. I think everybody will agree that the bridesmaids look absolutely gorgeous and Lita, can I just say you look stunning. While Matt just looks...well, he looks stunned." That earned some hearty laughter and applause. "When Jeff asked me to stand in as Matt's best man, part of me was honored, part of me was terrified, but mostly I was laughing inwardly that he and Matt finally admitted what we've known all along, that I am, in fact, the better man.

"Having never been a best man before, I had to spend several hours surfing the internet to try and find out exactly what my duties would be. I also came across several pictures of Paris Hilton, but that's neither here nor there.

"So apparently the most important thing I had to do was make sure Matt got to the venue on time, looking presentable, clean-cut and sober. Given how nervous he was this morning, the 'sober' part was a minor miracle, and as for the rest, well, I got him there on time…

"Some of you, incidentally, may have been surprised by how calm and collected Matt has seemed today – he seemed to have avoided the wedding day jitters and kept insisting _I'm fine, I'm fine! _all day. However, that's probably because none of you saw him at 10 o'clock this morning when he was lying facedown on his bed in his hotel room, in shorts and a t-shirt, with me and Adam rubbing his back and Tyson trying to get him to eat just a few more cornflakes."

The crowd busted up laughing, and Jay glanced down at the groom, who looked slightly annoyed, but was chuckling along with the guests. "Sorry, Matty, you know I couldn't resist. Anyway, where was I?"

"Matt was born on September 23, 1974; 23 years to the day the Seattle Mariners broke the record for most home runs in a year, and he shares a birthday with such notables as Harry Connick Jr, Mickey Rooney, and Miss America 1997, Michelle Tolson. None of these, however, have had any noticeable effects on either his musical talent, physical attractiveness or acting ability.

"I've known Matt for over half a decade, during the Brood days, and we had so much fun on the road, along with Matt, his brother Jeff, who's here with us in spirit, and my surrogate brother and friend for over two decades now, Adam.

"When I first met Matt, I was told that he was the "quiet brother." As those of you who know him can tell, he hasn't changed much. Maybe his hairline has—a little bit anyway!-but not him. Over the years, he's proven to be one of the best friends a guy could have. From sharing a room on the road, partying with him, and carrying him back to his hotel room when he's become a little too... ahem... emotional.

"While drunkenly singing karaoke in a hotel bar, he's been a fantastic friend. I don't say this about anyone but those who are my closest friends, but there's nothing I wouldn't do for him, and likewise, nothing he wouldn't do for me. In fact we spend our whole lives doing nothing for each other. By the way, I should just say that if he challenges anyone to an arm-wrestle later on, use your left arm. And if he grins and asks you to pull his finger, I'd advise you to leave quickly and quietly by the nearest available exit."

Matt smacked Jay playfully on the arm as the guests broke up laughing.

Once the mirth died down somewhat, Jay became a bit more serious. "When Matt first met Lita, I knew there was something special happening. Having been a bit randy before then, he was absurdly proud of never having bought a drink for a woman, so when he bought Lita a rose and a drink on Valentines Day four and a half years ago, we could tell it was something special.

"And when Lita and Matt introduced me to their surrogate kid sister, who would become my wife just two and a half years later, I knew that _they_ were something special.

"They've now been together for a long time, and I can't think of a single couple more perfect for each other. She brings out the good side in him, which takes a lot of effort; in fact I'd say she's made him a better person since they've been together. Lita, I'd like to thank you on behalf of humanity for that.

"So to wrap this up, I'd just like to say that marriage is not about finding someone you can live with, it's about finding someone you can't live without.

"So if everyone would like to join me in a toast to the new Mr and Mrs Hardy, Matt and Lita. May your love be modern enough to survive the times, and old fashioned enough to last forever.

"Ladies and Gentlemen: The Bride and Groom."

~~~TIME~~~

Dr. Jarvis, a plump looking blonde doctor, stepped into her office to dial an important phone number. Two rings. "Yes, Dr. Yamamoto. This is Dr. Jarvis, I'm returning your call. Yes, yes, thank you. The new Mrs. Hardy is recovering quite nicely, thank you. She's going to be released tomorrow. Really? Well, this definitely is a game changer. She can still be released, no problems, right? Okay, that's good to hear. They'll definitely want to hear this..."

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: If this chapter seemed a bit choppy, apologies. I kinda wonder what kind of news Dr. Yamamoto has for Dr. Jarvis, as well as Matt and Lita. Rest assured, it's not anything bad or tragic, but like Dr. Jarvis said, it's a game changer.**

**The chapter title is _Time (Clock Of The Heart) _by Culture Club.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE**

**ATTENTION READERS:**

I'm going to take a break from this story. I've got some Writer's Block with this one, and plot bunnies abound with others. Don't worry-I WILL come back to this story-I just don't want to write something that I know could turn out better.

Suffice it to say that there's a discrepancy with the DNA test on Lita's baby, and the test will need to be redone.  



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